Mario Pelchat - v. -, 2013 SKPC 55

IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF SASKATCHEWAN CIVIL DIVISION Citation: 2013 SKPC 055 Date: March 22, 2013 File: 138/12 Location: Yorkton _____________________________________________________________________________ Between: Mario Pelchat - and - Evelina Hrappstead Self For the Plaintiff/Defendant by Counterclaim Rhodel Ferriss For the Defendant/Plaintiff by Counterclaim ______________________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT R. GREEN , J ______________________________________________________________________________ OVERVIEW: [ 1 ] On February 24, 2012, both Mr.

Pelchat, from Yorkton, and Ms. Hrappstead, from Swan River, Manitoba, were driving in a lane of the parking lot of Canadian Tire in Yorkton. They collided. Both vehicles were travelling at low speed before the collision. Both drivers claim the accident was the fault of the other.

Mr. Pelchat ’s version [ 2 ] Mr. Pelchat claims for his deductible of $700.00. He was driving in a lane of the parking lot coming directly away from the Canadian Tire building. Both sides of the lane have parking stalls. He said Ms. Hrappstead was approaching him from the opposite direction, more to the middle of the lane and over the centre of the lane. He said Ms. Hrappstead began to turn toward a vacant parking stall on her right. He said, as she began to turn toward that stall, he continued to drive forward, and began a left-hand turn, as he intended to turn left to exit the parking lane. He said Ms.

Hrappstead stopped her vehicle suddenly just as she began to enter the stall. As a result, his pickup truck, which he said was three quarters of the way past her vehicle, collided with the driver’s side rear bumper of her vehicle. This caused minor damage, which he described as a scratch to that rear bumper. He photographed on his mobile device what I accept was minor damage to the bumper in question, and, at the trial, filed a printed copy of this picture as Exhibit P-2. [ 3 ] Mr. Pelchat said he and Ms. Hrappstead got out of their vehicles and spoke to each other. He asked if she was okay.

She said she was, and she apologized. Both drivers agreed to report the accident to their insurers. [ 4 ] Mr. Pelchat’s diagram (Exhibit P-1) shows him driving north on his side of the parking lane, and Ms. Hrappstead driving south positioned partly over the centre of the parking lane and beginning to turn right into a parking stall. His diagram then shows that the back driver’s side of his vehicle made contact with the rear driver’s side bumper of her vehicle. Ms. Hrappstead ’s version [ 5 ] Ms.

Hrappstead counterclaims for her deductible of $300.00 plus the cost paid by Manitoba Public Insurance of fixing her vehicle ($509.20). She was represented at trial by Ms. Ferriss, who said she had been retained to appear for Ms. Hrappstead in this action by Manitoba Public Insurance. [ 6 ] Ms. Hrappstead said she was driving into the Canadian Tire parking lot from the north and hadn’t quite made her turn. She said she had not quite straightened out and was partly in the lane as she was in the process of turning. She saw a pickup truck ahead of her, on her right-hand side, pulling out of a parking stall.

She stopped to let that pickup truck come out. Mr. Pelchat was approaching her from the other direction in the parking lane, and she said she thought he must not have seen the pickup backing out of the parking stall. She thought Mr. Pelchat was trying to get between her and the pickup backing out. She said Mr. Pelchat scraped her, and they both got out of their vehicles. [ 7 ] Ms. Hrappstead’s diagram (Exhibit D-1) shows her turning left into the parking lane, with a pickup truck backing up a few car lengths ahead of her on her right-hand side. Mr.

Pelchat is pictured coming toward her in the parking lane, and colliding with her as he began to turn left to exit the parking lane and before Ms. Hrappstead’s vehicle straightened out. Her diagram shows the front bumper of Mr. Pelchat’s vehicle colliding with her vehicle about where the driver’s side front door meets the driver’s side back door. [ 8 ] Documents from Manitoba Public Insurance (Exhibits D-2 and D-3) show the net total to fix Ms. Hrappstead’s vehicle, after her $300.00 deductible was deducted, was $509.26. ANALYSIS: [ 9 ] Mr. Pelchat claims the accident was the fault of Ms.

Hrappstead, because she was across the centre of the lane and then stopped unexpectedly as she entered the parking stall on her right. Ms. Ferriss, on behalf of Ms. Hrappstead, claims the accident was the fault of Mr. Pelchat as:

(1) Ms. Hrappstead was driving defensively when she stopped - it was argued in her proper lane - to wait for the pickup truck to back out of the stall ahead of her; and

(2) Mr. Pelchat was not paying proper attention to what was happening or exercising proper care.

[ 10 ]

Section 211 of The Traffic Safety Act of Saskatchewan is entitled “rules regarding parking lots”. In effect, it says that no one driving in a parking lot shall do anything that, if done on a highway, would be a contravention of certain sections of the Act . In my view, the listed sections which are relevant to this case are: 213

(1) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway without due care and attention.

(2) No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway. 217

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the driver of a vehicle on a highway: (

a) when meeting, and until passed, a person or vehicle using the highway and proceeding in the opposite direction, shall keep to the right of the centre of the highway; [ 11 ] While the rules in this Act are not an absolute answer in a civil action for negligence, they do provide a guide toward what constitutes proper operation of a vehicle in a parking lot. [ 12 ] Here, I accept and find that Mr. Pelchat was driving on his side of the centre of the parking lane. While it was argued that Ms.

Hrappstead was in effect driving on her side of the parking lane, I am satisfied, and find, that her vehicle was over the centre of the parking lane after she turned into that lane, toward Canadian Tire. In making that finding I note her evidence she had not quite straightened out and was partly in the lane as she was in the process of turning. I as well note that her diagram has Mr. Pelchat hitting the middle of her vehicle, where both Mr. Pelchat’s diagram and the picture he took, show that the damage to Ms. Hrappstead’s vehicle was to the driver’s side rear bumper.

As a result, on the latter finding, I accept that Mr. Pelchat has a better recollection of where his vehicle and Ms. Hrappstead’s vehicle were immediately prior to the collision. [ 13 ] Despite these findings, I as well accept and find that Ms. Hrappstead did see a pickup truck ahead of her backing out of a parking stall, which she stopped to give way to. In doing so, she was taking proper care, given the often unexpected nature of traffic flow in a parking lot. While I accept that Mr. Pelchat did not see that pickup truck, perhaps because he was already past that truck, I nevertheless do not accept that Mr.

Pelchat was paying close enough attention to what was happening when Ms. Hrappstead stopped. [ 14 ] In a sense, then, and to excuse the pun, we have a collision of rules. On the one hand I am satisfied that Ms. Hrappstead did not stay to the right of centre of the parking lane when approaching and passing Mr. Pelchat. That is contrary to the rule set out in s. 217(1)(

a) of the Act . As well, however, I do not accept that Mr. Pelchat was exercising proper care at the point Ms. Hrappstead stopped her vehicle. That is contrary to the rule set out in s. 213 of the Act . [ 15 ] As a result, I am not satisfied on a balance of probabilities that this accident - at the most a minor fender-bender - was the fault of either party. Both the claim and counterclaim are dismissed. There is no order as to costs. R. Green, J