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Transforming the Classroom into a Courtroom
MANITOBA COURT OF APPEAL HEARS CASE AT ROBSON HALL
For the second time ever on
Thursday October 13 th , the
Manitoba Court of Appeal
transformed the moot courtroom
into a real court of appeal and for
the first time all four lawyers and
all three justices were graduates
of our Faculty of Law. As part of
their studies students were made
familiar with the facts of a case
and were given the opportunity
to observe the proceedings.
Chief Justice Richard Scott, Mr.
Justice Martin Freedman and
Madam Justice Barbara Hamilton
made up the panel of judges
presiding over the hearing.
William (Bill) Gange and Alison
Cathcart, both from the law firm
of Gange, Goodman & French
represented Tyrone Enterprises,
with R. Ivan Holloway and Uzma
Saeed of D’Arcy & Deacon LLP
represented Ms. O’Brien.
The Court heard the appeal of
O’Brien v Tyrone Enterprises Ltd. Ms.
O’Brien suffered serious personal
injuries in 1997 when she fell
down a flight of stairs after the
banister came away from the wall
in a duplex rented by Ms. O’Brien’s
friend. Ms. O’Brien sued the owner
of the duplex, Tyrone Enterprises
Ltd., claiming it was liable to her
for failing to keep the property
maintained and reasonably safe.
Ms. O’Brien had not been able to
work since the fall.
Ms. O’Brien applied to the Court
of Queen’s Bench for an order
permitting her to sever the issues
of liability and damages and
proceed with a trial on the issue
of liability alone, at least partly
because she could not afford to
proceed with the full trial.
In the lower court, Mr. Justice
Albert Clearwater found that her
inability to afford the expected
substantial costs for expert reports
to prove her damages should not
prevent her from proceeding to
court on the less expensive issue
of whether Tyrone Enterprises
Ltd. was liable for her injuries. Mr.
Justice Clearwater, who is also
a U of M law school alumnus,
concluded that without such an
order Ms. O’Brien would be denied
access to justice.
From the beginning it was
apparent to the students
the panel granted leeway to
counsel’s oral arguments so
that the opportunity to educate
the students was not lost. First
year student James Pakenham
appreciated the opportunity.
“It was a tremendous
experience to see the practical
application of the law right
in Robson Hall. The judges
and counsel were incredibly
generous in providing insight
into the process.”
Mr. Gange and Mr. Holloway
stayed after the hearing to answer
questions. The students were
thankful for seeing real examples
of oral advocacy in a courtroom
setting and for the opportunity
to witness how access to justice
markedly affects a person in need
of legal representation. Second
year student Elizabeth Mitchell
said, “I never really thought about
the costs involved in appealing
a procedural aspect of an issue
before even going to trial with
the issue. It really seems to me
that the civil litigation process
is increasingly inaccessible to
ordinary people.”
Thanks to the strong relationship
between Robson Hall and the
judiciary of Manitoba, students
will continue to receive practical
insights made possible by turning
the classroom into a courtroom.
7 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT