Question 2 Amaia has just bought a new house which has a beautiful wooden balcony overlooking the Niagara escarpment and a saltwater pool below. She decides to celebrate with a pool party. When she bought the house, shed had it inspected by an engineer, Ynu Li, who had advised her that the balcony could support 20 people. Ynu had based this assessment on a similar balcony she had inspected in the past, and estimated Amaias balcony to be a similar size and be made of similar material but hadnt checked the measurements or materials personally. Based on Ynus assessment, Amaia invited 20 people to her party and started the preparations. To make the balcony extra festive, Amaia bought a dozen sets of Smarty Party fairy lights which she strung up around the railings. The fairy lights required 12V voltage, but the Smarty Party packaging didnt specify this and Amaias outlets gave out 24V. The lights still worked, but they became extremely hot. On the night of the party, Amaia failed to notice this. She was too distracted serving drinks to her guests, who all seemed to be having a good time. In fact, Amaia began to worry that her boss, Matilda, was having too good a time. She realized she had served her too many cocktails and she seemed to be swaying and slurring her words. At one point, Amaia was inside getting food, when a section of fairy lights which had been wrapped around the legs of a table, sparked, and set fire to the tablecloth, which soon set fire to the table. Amaia quickly ran out with a bottle of water and put out the flames, but the table, which was handcrafted reclaimed wood, was already singed. No sooner had the guests calmed down, then Amaia heard a creaking noise and one side of the balcony started to give way. Everyone managed to hold onto to the railing and make their way into Amaias living room, except for Matilda, who panicked and jumped off the balcony into the pool below. Fortunately, Matilda wasnt injured but she was incredibly embarrassed. When a week later, Amaia fails to get the promotion she had been expecting, she suspects its because of what happened at the party. When Amaia contacts Smarty Party about her experience with the fairy lights, the salesperson states that Smarty Party was well aware that fairy lights require lesser voltage and could overheat with higher voltage but considered it so obvious that there was no need to include a warning on the packaging. Amaia arranges a contractor to repair the balcony. They inform her that due to the age of the materials and the slope of the escarpment, the maximum people she should have allowed on the balcony was 10 and suggested anyone who had have looked at the structure closely would have realized that. Amaia discovers that her insurance policy wont cover the damaged balcony as it has an exclusion for properties built on the escarpment. Her insurance agent, Cal Simons, hadnt realized this, but had recommended Amaia purchase the policy because the insurance company gave him a free trip to Hawaii for every policy purchased by his clients. Amaia has to spend $15,000 repairing the balcony and $1,000 replacing her table and is furious. She wants to seek compensation but doesnt know where to start.

Questions Amaia comes to you because she knows youve studied Commercial Law through one of Canadas top business schools and asks for your advice. What do you tell her when she asks the following questions: a. What kind of claim do I have for my balcony collapsing and who do I sue? b. What will I need to prove, and do you think I will be successful in proving it? c. Can I seek damages for my lost promotion? Im making $20,000 less than I should be because of that balcony collapse. d. What kind of claim do I have for my burnt table? e. What will I need to prove, and do you think I will be successful in proving it? f. Do I have any sort of claim against Cal and if so, what would it be? Im out of pocket a lot of money because of that useless insurance policy.