Sunday, September 1, 2013

City Solicitor Warns New Skateboarding Law Could Mean City Can Be Sued

The new skateboarding law requiring use of helmets puts the onus on the city to enforce its own regulation. 

So says City Solicitor John Nugent who concludes the city of Saint John, if it doesn't enforce the regulation, could be sued by a skateboarder who gets injured when not wearing a helmet if the bylaw wasn't being enforced.
 

Nugent says the legal argument could be made with some force that the city is liable but whether a court would see it that way remains to be seen. 

West side councillor Greg Norton argues Police Chief Bill Reid is on board and the question of enforcement should not be an excuse for inaction.