Rhône (The) v. Peter A.B. Widener (The)
Encyclopedia
Rhône v. Peter A.B. Widener (The) [1993] 1 S.C.R. 497 is a Supreme Court of Canada
decision on the "directing mind" principle of corporate liability. The Court held that an individual must have "governing authority over the management and operation" of the corporation to be considered a "directing mind".
The primary issue before the Supreme Court was whether Kelch was a directing mind of "North Central" by virtue of the fact that he exercised some discretion and performed some non-navigational functions as an incident of his employment.
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
decision on the "directing mind" principle of corporate liability. The Court held that an individual must have "governing authority over the management and operation" of the corporation to be considered a "directing mind".
Background
While moored in the Montreal Port, the Rhone was struck by the Peter Widener, a barge that was being towed by several tugboats. The tugboats were owned by Great Lakes Towing Company, a tugboat firm. "North Central", owner of the Rhone, sued Great Lakes and Captain Kelch, the captain of one of the tugboats, for negligence.The primary issue before the Supreme Court was whether Kelch was a directing mind of "North Central" by virtue of the fact that he exercised some discretion and performed some non-navigational functions as an incident of his employment.
Opinion
The Court found that Kelch was not a directing mind. It held that to be a directing mind, the discretion given to the employee must amount to a delegation of central authority for the purpose of setting policy rather than out of necessity to accomplish the employees duties.See also
- Corporate manslaughterCorporate manslaughterCorporate manslaughter is a criminal offence in English law, being an act of homicide committed by a company or organisation. In general, in English criminal law, a juristic person is in the same position as a natural person, and may be convicted for committing many offences...
- List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Lamer Court)
- R. v. Canadian Dredge & Dock Co.R. v. Canadian Dredge & Dock Co.R. v. Canadian Dredge & Dock Co. [1985] 1 S.C.R. 662 is a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on corporate liability where the Court adopted the English identification doctrine for liability, which states that culpability for acts and mental states of a corporation can be represented by...