The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has set aside a temporary injunction that halted a lawsuit filed by some parents of those who died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.
Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when an inexperienced truck driver went through a stop sign and into the path of the junior hockey teamB次元官网网址檚 bus at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask., on April 6, 2018.
A few months after the crash, a lawsuit was brought by families of five who died.
But a lawyer for a proposed class-action lawsuit by other families argued successfully last year that the original lawsuit should be put on hold until the court decides whether or not to certify the class action.
In a decision released Tuesday, the Court of Appeal ruled the judge who granted the temporary injunction made an error.
B次元官网网址淭he effect of the stay B次元官网网址� is significant. It bars completely their access to the court B次元官网网址� a right that is not to be lightly interfered with,B次元官网网址� wrote Justice Robert Leurer.
B次元官网网址淚 reject the characterization of the stay order as having only a trifling or limited effect on the ability of the B次元官网网址� plaintiffs to prosecute their action.B次元官网网址�
Leurer said there is no reason why the court should rule in favour of the class action over the original lawsuit.
B次元官网网址淭his is not a case where that party has a small or trifling claim.B次元官网网址�
He said although the stay was meant to be temporary and would have expired after certification was decided, it may have lead to a lengthy delay.
B次元官网网址淎 stay is inappropriate without considering the financial and psychological consequences,B次元官网网址� he wrote.
B次元官网网址淭his is not a situation where that party can be said in any way to be seeking to abuse the courtB次元官网网址檚 processes by pursuing an individual action in the face of a proposed class action.B次元官网网址�
The early lawsuit represents the families of assistant coach Mark Cross, 27, from Strasbourg, Sask.; Jaxon Joseph, 20, of St. Albert, Alta.; Logan Hunter, 18, of St. Albert, Alta.; Jacob Leicht, 19, of Humboldt, Sask.; and Adam Herold, 16, of Montmartre, Sask.
It names as defendants the truck driver, the Calgary-based company that employed him, the bus company and the Saskatchewan government.
The class action lists as defendants the Saskatchewan government, the truck driver and his employer.
Other lawsuits related to the crash were also filed. But John Rice, a Vancouver lawyer working on the class action, has previously said their representatives agreed not to bring the cases forward until after a certification hearing.
Although duplicate proceedings are generally undesirable, the judge said, they are not prohibited.
B次元官网网址淭here are many circumstances in which, in the balancing of the competing interests, they are permitted. This is one such case.B次元官网网址�
Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, the trucker who caused the crash, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving charges. In July, he was granted day parole for six months.
B次元官网网址� Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
