Kamloops (City) V. Nielsen

Kamloops (City) v. Nielsen, 2 S.C.R. 2 ("Kamloops") is a leading Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision setting forth the criteria which must be met in order for a plaintiff to make a claim in tort for pure economic loss. In this regard, the Kamloops case is significant because the SCC adopted the “proximity” test set out in the House of Lords decision of Anns v. Merton London Borough Council, A.C. 728. Kamloops is also significant as it articulates the “discoverability principle” in which the commencement of a limitation period is delayed until the plaintiff is aware of the material facts on which a cause of action are discovered or ought to have been discovered by the plaintiff in the exercise of reasonable diligence. This is later adopted and refined in Central Trust Company v. Rafuse, 2 S.C.R. 147. Finally, Kamloops develops the law governing circumstances where a plaintiff can sue the government in tort.