First

Session, 47th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2012

BILL 24

AN ACT TO EXTINGUISH

OBSOLETE ACTIONS IN THE PROVINCE

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

FELIX COLLINS

Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would

enact the Obsolete Actions Extinguishment Act , which would extinguish

causes of action which are now obsolete.

The Bill would

extinguish

the common law torts of breach of promise of marriage and the loss of services

of a female in consequence of rape or seduction; and

remove

references to these torts and the already extinguished tort of criminal

conversation in the Evidence Act , the Jury Act, 1991, the Small Claims Act and the Survival of Actions Act .

A BILL

AN ACT TO EXTINGUISH OBSOLETE ACTIONS IN

THE PROVINCE

Analysis

Short title

2. Breach of promise of marriage

Loss of services of a female in

consequence of rape or seduction

EVIDENCE

ACT

S.7 Rep.

Breach of promise of marriage

JURYACT,

S.32 Amdt.

Juries in certain actions

S.34 Amdt.

Direction to jury

SMALL

CLAIMS ACT

S.3 Amdt.

Jurisdiction

SURVIVAL

OF ACTIONS ACT

S.4 Amdt.

Damages that may be recovered

9. S.11 Amdt.

Actions to which Act does not apply

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Obsolete Actions Extinguishment Act .

Breach of promise

of marriage

2. No

proceeding shall be brought for breach of promise of marriage, or for damages

respecting breach of promise of marriage.

Loss of services

of a female in consequence of rape or seduction

3. No

proceeding shall be brought by a person for the loss of services of a female in

consequence of rape or seduction.

EVIDENCE ACT

RSNL1990 cE-16

as amended

Section 7 of the Evidence Act is repealed.

JURY ACT, 1991

SNL1991 c16

as amended

5. Subsection 32(1) of the Jury Act, 1991 is repealed and the following substituted:

Juries in certain

actions

(1) In

actions of defamation, malicious prosecution or false imprisonment, the

plaintiff and the defendant may indicate in a certificate of readiness filed

under the Rules of the Supreme Court,

1986 that he or she wishes the issues of fact tried by a judge with a jury.

6. Subsection 34(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Direction to jury

(1) A presiding judge

may direct a jury to answer questions of fact stated to them by the judge

instead of giving a general or special verdict, except in cases of an action

for malicious prosecution or false imprisonment.

SMALL CLAIMS ACT

RSNL1990 cS-16

as amended

7. Paragraph 3(2)(

c) of the Small Claims Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(

c) for malicious prosecution, false imprisonment

or defamation; or

SURVIVAL OF ACTIONS ACT

RSNL1990 cS-32

as amended

8. Paragraph 4(

c) of the Survival of Actions Act is repealed.

9. Paragraphs 11(

e) and (

f) of the Act are

repealed.

William E. Parsons, Queen's Printer