How a Criminal Conviction or Guilty Plea Can Affect a Civil Lawsuit

Yes. A Highway Traffic Act or criminal conviction can come back to haunt you in your civil lawsuit because it may help determine who was at fault in your accident. If you were injured in an accident that also gave rise to criminal charges, a plea or conviction can affect your right to sue and, in some limited cases, it can even affect your right to claim certain accident benefits.

Yes. Under s. 22.1 of Ontario’s Evidence Act, proof that a person was convicted or discharged of a crime anywhere in Canada is proof that they committed it, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, once any appeal is over. It applies whether or not that person is a party to the lawsuit.

Yes. A guilty plea is an admission of the essential elements of the offence (Criminal Code s. 606(1.1)) and results in a conviction or discharge that s. 22.1 of the Evidence Act makes proof in the civil case. You can’t later say in civil court “I wasn’t drunk” when you already pleaded guilty to impaired driving.

Because relitigating them is usually an abuse of process. The civil courts do not want to relitigate issues that have already been decided in another court proceeding. In Toronto (City) v CUPE, Local 79, 2003 SCC 63, the Supreme Court held that where relitigation is barred, the conviction is conclusive. The limited exceptions are fraud or dishonesty in the first case, new evidence that conclusively impeaches the result, or fairness, for example where the first case was too minor to defend fully.

A discharge is not a conviction (Criminal Code s. 730(3)), but s. 22.1 of the Evidence Act applies to a person “convicted or discharged”, so it can be used in the civil case in the same way.

Yes. An acquittal means guilt was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil claim only has to be proved on a balance of probabilities (F.H. v McDougall, 2008 SCC 53), so it can still succeed. A withdrawn or stayed charge is not a conviction or discharge, so the civil case is decided on its own evidence.

No. A civil court decides whether someone is liable to pay damages, on a balance of probabilities. It does not convict anyone or impose a sentence, and a civil judgment is not a criminal record.

Not directly. A lawsuit cannot convict anyone. A criminal charge starts with an information sworn before a justice, usually by the police, and is prosecuted separately. The same events can lead to both, in either order, and each case runs on its own evidence and standard of proof.

No. Your insurance company will go by something called “The Fault Determination Rules” (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 668), relatively simple rules designed to help insurance companies quickly determine who should be listed as the at-fault driver. The fault determination rules are usually not relevant to a lawsuit for injuries.

It can. Under s. 31 of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule, a person convicted of a criminal offence they were committing at the time of the accident, including impaired driving, over 80 or a refusal, is not paid income replacement, non-earner and certain other benefits. While the charge is outstanding those benefits are held in trust, and they are paid out if the person is not found guilty.

Yes. Transcripts from a criminal or Highway Traffic Act trial can be introduced in a civil injury trial. What has been previously said at a criminal trial may be looked at very carefully during the civil injury lawsuit process. This applies both to persons who are charged and to persons who are called to trial as witnesses against the driver who was charged.

Yes. A restitution order under s. 738 of the Criminal Code does not, by itself, affect anyone’s civil remedy for the same act (s. 741.2). If the order is not paid, the person owed can enter it as a civil judgment and enforce it (s. 741(1)).

No. The victim surcharge (Criminal Code s. 737) is 30% of any fine, or $100 for a summary offence and $200 for an indictable offence where no fine is imposed. It funds victim services in the province. A judge can waive or reduce it for undue hardship or where it would be disproportionate.

Usually two years from when the claim was discovered (Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4). There is no limitation period for a claim based on a sexual assault, and none for an assault on a minor, an intimate partner or a dependent person (s. 16(1)(h)–(h.2)).

Rarely. A court can stay a proceeding on just terms (Courts of Justice Act s. 106), but Ontario courts seldom pause a civil action only because a criminal charge is outstanding. Get advice before giving evidence in either case.