Counsel alleges tenuous connection between incident and COVID-19 lockdown rules
The Ontario Superior Court approved a settlement of $97,500 sought by the son of a man who had fallen at a bar, sustained serious and permanent injuries, remained in a coma for an extended period, and eventually died.
In Arruda v. Micaelense et al., 2026 ONSC 4856, the incident leading to the man’s injuries occurred on Apr. 2, 2021. On Oct. 11, 2024, he passed away without any known will, estate trustee, or assets.
In an action arising from the incident, the plaintiffs were the deceased and his son, who was his only known heir, his litigation guardian, and a claimant under Ontario’s Family Law Act, 1990.
An issue arose regarding the bar’s liability, given that the establishment had allegedly been operating in breach of lockdown rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under r. 7 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, RRO 1990, Reg 194, a motion sought the approval of a proposed settlement of $97,500. The son accepted this amount as reasonable.
Counsel, acting under a contingency agreement, alleged that the settlement was reasonable due to the tenuous connection between the lockdown rules and the fall.
Counsel requested a 20 percent contingency fee instead of the negotiated 33 percent rate.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice found the settlement of $97,500 reasonable, allocated as follows:
In accepting a 20 percent rate, the court acknowledged that counsel had devoted enough time to a case with a risk of no return and had arrived at a reasonable settlement.
The court noted that r. 7’s usual focus on a disabled person’s best interest was not a consideration in this case.
According to the Superior Court, the defendants should pay the settlement money into court on the deceased’s behalf, as the son had yet to obtain a certificate of appointment of estate trustee.
The court noted that the son said he would take steps in pursuit of the certificate.
Here are some other injury-related decisions from the Superior Court arising from falls.
In a personal injury case involving a trip-and-fall accident due to the plaintiff’s attempt to access a Toronto Transit Commission bus, the court issued a June 17 decision finding nothing untoward about a contingency fee arrangement that proposed a fee of 33 percent for tort claims and an alternate hourly rate of $900.
On Aug. 15, 2025, the court stayed a trip-and-fall action for lack of jurisdiction upon seeing no real and substantial connection between Ontario and the tort dispute and upon deeming Alberta a more convenient forum.
On Apr. 19, 2024, the court dismissed a lawsuit against the Town of Ajax in connection with a 2011 incident during which a plaintiff tripped and fell because of a sidewalk defect.
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