Fact Pattern
Perfection Accounting Inc. (“Perfection”) is an accounting
firm with 10 accountants and 10 support staff. Perfection is owned and operated
by a senior accountant, Jazz. The other 9 accountants are employees of
Perfection. 2016 was a successful year for Perfection, particularly because
Jazz was able to sign two very large corporations as clients of the firm. To
celebrate the 2016 year, Jazz decided to throw a spectacular Christmas party
for all of Perfection’s employees. The party was held in Perfection’s office.
Along with the usual Christmas party features, Perfection paid for an open bar,
where employees could drink as much alcohol as they liked, without charge.
On the night of the party, all of Perfection’s employees had
a great time, with most of them, including Jazz, consuming a large amount of
alcohol. Alana, a junior accountant with Perfection, became particularly
intoxicated. Everyone at the party suspected Alana had drunk a lot of alcohol
when she began doing handstands in the boardroom. When the party concluded at
4:30 am, most of the employees had arranged for a taxi to take them home.
However, Alana had not arranged for a taxi and had instead driven her car to
the party. Jazz noticed Alana stumbling awkwardly towards her car in the
parking lot, and asked her if she was able to drive home. Alana replied,
“Of course! What do I look like, an idiot?” Because the roads were
quiet (it was 4:30 am) and she knew that Alana lived only 2 kilometres from the
office, Jazz decided not to provoke Alana any further, and hopped into her taxi
and went home.
Alana was well over the legal alcohol limit to drive. On the
drive home, Alana swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic and was involved in
a head-on collision with another driver, Felicia. Felicia suffered very serious
injuries and was rendered a quadriplegic. Alana is 100% responsible for the
accident and Felicia was not at fault.
Felicia brought a negligence claim against Alana, but
Perfection was also named in the lawsuit, as Felicia believes that Perfection
was also negligent in hosting its Christmas party.
The damages claimed by Felicia are all of the normal and
well-accepted damages that someone involved in a similar accident can obtain.
Question 1 (7 marks)
Do you think Perfection is liable to Felicia for negligence?
Only discuss the liability of Perfection, not the liability of Alana or Jazz
personally. Also, the types of damages suffered by Felicia are not an issue in
this question.
Question 2 (3 marks)
Perfection’s lawyers learned a few interesting facts in the
course of the lawsuit: Felicia was also intoxicated (over the legal limit) and
was not wearing her seatbelt at the time of the accident. If a judge found that
Perfection was liable in negligence, what impact could these facts have on Felicia’s
negligence claim against Perfection?
