malfunctions14 Aug 2006 03:54 pm
apparently my toilet was a Crane Canada toilet, and there have been several reported incidents of tanks splitting out-of-the-blue.
in fact, i just learned that there have been class-action suits in BC, and there was a rash of toilet malfuntion recently in Grimshaw, Alberta…
Cracked toilet tanks causing a lot of damage
not so “very rare” after all!
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:29 am
I had also a recent failure of a Crane toilet, and I’m in Quebec. The tank reservoir cracked “out of the blue” while I was eating my lunch last week. I’m fortunate it happened when I was at home.
I’m trying to find out if any class action suits were done in Quebec. I guess the best way to find out is to contact a lawyer.
November 23rd, 2006 at 9:34 am
Here’s some more info, which isn’t encouraging for us. It comes from the URL http://www.branmac.com/go/download/octopus.pdf
“Mackenzie JA of the British Columbia Court of Appeal makes the following comment:
One of the problems lurking here, particularly in products liability cases, is that while the negligence of the defendant may have occurred in the past the damage may not happen until some date in the future and the limitation period will run from the date of the damage. Using the Chace v Crane Canada [citation omitted] case as an illustration, a defective tank manufactured in the 1980s might not crack until 2002. If the class is defined to include future claimants as well as present ones, then a claimant whose tank cracks in 2002 would find to his surprise that his claim was settled by a comprehensive settlement in 1999, and there is no money set aside for the settlement of his claim and he is out of luck. Whether future claims should be included or not depends on the circumstances of each case but in the Crane certification, for example, I limited the class to claimants who suffered damages as of a particular date, thereby excluding future claims.”