Shirley Shane loses appeal, figuring out next step
Shirley Shane’s slip on an icy Halifax sidewalk left her with a permanent ankle injury.
With her most recent appeal dismissed, she is unsure of where to go next.
“This is a precedent-setting case. They (the defendant) want to make an example of me to deter people from suing when they slip and fall,” she said.
Shane was walking on Hollis St. to work on Jan. 7, 2008 when the accident occurred.
She was wearing “good winter boots”, and couldn’t believe it when her legs went out from underneath her.
“I went down on my back and my foot turned out 180 degrees,” said Shane.
She was taken to hospital, where she had screws and plates put into her ankle.
She spent eight weeks off the job in a cervical cast and she had to slowly ease back into walking.
“I went from a wheelchair to crutches to a cane,” she said. She still has a limp and ongoing pain. She has developed arthritis in her knees.
In the Dec. 17, 2010 decision from the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, the company that maintained the parking lot adjacent to the sidewalk was rejected in their pursuit of a summary judgement dismissal.
They admitted “there was ice present on the sidewalk” where Shane slipped.
The company, recognized as 3104854 Nova Scotia Limited in the court documents, is an offshoot of Greater Homes Incorporated, according to Shane’s lawyer Michael Dull.
Those are two of many companies owned by the Saberi brothers Navid and Saeid, who often find themselves in the news as of late. Navid is also president and director of the numbered company in the lawsuit.
Greater Homes Inc., the company Dull mentioned, has since been closed for non-payment, and became Greater Homes Realty Inc. Saeid was president and director of the first company, with Navid taking over the second one.
Saeid Saberi never returned calls for comment on the case, nor did the lawyers for the defendant.
“Big business means big money. That’s what I’m up against,” said Shane.
The supreme court document states the sidewalk has been under municipal jurisdiction since 2006, so the company didn’t think they were responsible for “removal of snow, or ice, or spreading salt or sand.”
Dull, working for Wagners Law, said HRM’s only responsibility was to “plow 24 to 48 hours after a snow event.”
“They did that … We could sue if they had a policy and didn’t follow it. But they don’t have a responsibility under their policy to clear ice from the sidewalk.”
The judge said an exception to the fact that municipalities are responsible for sidewalks is that if conditions of their property “flow off and cause injury to persons nearby.”
The judge found enough evidence to send the case to trial.
Co-worker Jason Salis said he found Shane “lying on the sidewalk.” He had often seen ice on the sidewalk before.
“He had formed the habit of crossing the street to avoid the area,” said the Supreme Court Decision.
Employee for the defendant, Philip White, said he salted the parking lot “in its entirety, seeing no snow to remove.”
There was agreement the lot was “at a higher elevation than the adjacent sidewalk,” and pooling of water could occur on the sidewalk, though White saw none.
Shane tried to use the dismissal of the previous motion to prove her case, but the court was not in agreement.
Shane subsequently filed an appeal, decided on July 7, 2013.
She said in the court documents the previous judge “erred in law by failing to examine alternative theories of causation … to determine the probable cause of hazard.”
Her appeal ended the same way the court decision did; with a loss. Her “migration theory” for the water needed to be proven, and she failed to do that. But she is determined to find justice.
“This wasn’t caused by the city. It was caused by the fact the parking lot is on a steep incline, and they push snow to the top. It melts, comes to the sidewalk and freezes,” she said.
“I’m still struggling with the results of this injury, and I will the rest of my life.”