Rollinson v. Canada
T-560-84
Muldoon J.
24/1/94
39 pp.
Determination of damages further to Court's judgment ([1991] 3 F.C. 70 (T.D.)) finding defendant liable in tort-Crown's wrongful seizures of plaintiff's vessel and vessel's subsequent and consequential damage and deterioration -- No justification for seizures and Court found specified breaches of citizen's Charter rights guaranteed by ss. 7, 8, 12 and 15-Without benefit of judicially issued search warrant, public servants seized citizen's personal papers in hopes of discivering something upon which could base charge under Customs Act or Criminal Code, like contraband -- Defendant's conduct unlawful and abusive -- Defendant raised matter of assessment of damages: impecunious plaintiff -- Reference to important case concerning award of damages to impecunious plaintiff: Owners of Dredger Liesbosch v. Owners of Steamship Edison, [1933] A.C. 449 (H.L.)-Where respondent not held liable for losses attributable to plaintiff's impecuniosity and damages assessed as if plaintiff not impecunious -- If such general principle adopted, would enshrine injustice as principle of law -- However, Liesbosch distinguishable as relating to consequences of management decision, which rendered plaintiff impecunious, not to carry adequate insurance -- Liesbosch, when pushed beyond its inherent limitations, bad law -- Canada's judiciary possesses sufficient self-confidence to interpret laws of Canada for Canadians without being bound by un-Canadian decisions -- Notion of permitting tortfeasor to inflict grievous loss on impecenious individual without compensating victim for all grief inflicted by sheer negligence or malice of wrongdoer, un-Canadian, and foreign to Canadian values, and unjust, and not to be followed in Canada -- Determination of damages must be made on sound reasoning and some discretionary decisions -- Special damages regarding vessel accorded: $137,710 -- Reasons for judgment in which liability found present wearisome litany of malicious, unprofessional, and cruel and unusual treatment of citizen and his wife by public servants -- General damages awarded contained aggravated damages and infrigement of Charter rights: $66,400-Punitive and exemplary damages of $20,000 allowed on basis of general tortious behaviour resided in high-handed, malicious, mocking, cruel treatment of plaintiff, in wielding of awesome State power against plaintiff to his material loss and evident deterioration of health -- Such awards of punitive and exemplary damages against Crown could be largely avoided if public service managers would evince leadership in training public servants to exercise their authority over public with moderation and personal self-restraint, to wield State's awesome powers in civilized manner-Total damage awarded: $224,110 -- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, being Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Canada Act 1982, 1982, c. 11 (U.K.) [R.S.C., 1985, Appendix II, No. 44] ss. 7, 8, 12, 15.