This case was heard in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Venedam was a furnace burner technician. In November 2002, he purchased a new oil tank, which was installed outside by Tanks & Ducts R Us Ltd. ("T&D"). Mr. Venedam’s old oil tank was in his basement, and T&D had instructions to drain and remove the old tank, but not to put the oil from the old tank in the basement into the new tank outside.

In January 2005, the new oil tank leaked, and Mr. Venedam sued T&D for negligence and breach of contract (by breach of conditions or warranties). After considering the evidence, the Court held that Mr. Venedam had failed to prove that T&D had installed the tank negligently. The Court also held that Mr. Venedam had failed to prove that T&D had breached its contract, as the evidence demonstrated that the oil tank had suffered pitting corrosion caused by contaminated oil. The Court held that the conditions and warranties of the sale had therefore been met, as the problem was the contaminated oil, not the quality of the tank itself. Since Mr. Venedam could not prove that T&D had introduced the contaminated oil into the tank, the Court found no reason to hold the company liable for Mr. Venedam’s loss. Mr. Venedam’s claim against T&D was therefore dismissed, as was the third-party claim that T&D had brought against its supplier, AFL Tank Manufacturing Ltd.

View the Decision on CanLII: https://www.canlii.org/en/ns/nssc/doc/2010/2010nssc186/2010nssc186.html

Disclaimer:
Case briefs in our Resource Library are drafted by law students who work or volunteer with East Coast Environmental Law, and East Coast Environmental Law does not guarantee their fullness or accuracy. Library users should not rely on case briefs as comprehensive accounts of the issues, facts, reasoning, or outcomes at stake in any given case. 

If you require more detailed information about a court decision or legal issue, please consider using our Environmental Law Inquiry Service to request information from our staff.