Who Pays for the Productions?

  • November 03, 2021
  • Sudevi Mukherjee-Gothi

I am grateful to be a member of the personal injury bar. It is a bar where we all encounter one another during many cases and therefore instead of being contentious, we can professionally and cordially work together towards the outcome of the action. 

However, one of the constant battles that I have as defence counsel is who is responsible for paying for productions prior to examinations for discovery in personal injury matters. It is my position that the onus of proof remains with the Plaintiff and that, therefore, they should be producing documentation to substantiate the claims advanced in the Statement of Claim. Why should the Defendant pay for productions to assist the Plaintiff’s claim? 

In the decision of Rheaume v. Foster, we received some more clarity on this issue, especially for actions brought within the Simplified Procedure realm.