Richard Jamieson Scott OC OM KC (March 20, 1938 – November 22, 2024) was a Canadian jurist who served as Chief Justice of Manitoba.
[10] In 1990, he served as the trial judge in R v Lavallee,[11] a case which was ultimately heard by the Supreme Court of Canada and which granted legal recognition to battered woman syndrome as a defence.
[14] In the personal injury case, the plaintiff's lawyers were representing her for a contingency fee and were "not prepared to front the costs of the medical and actuarial witnesses who would be required when the issues of damages were addressed unless the defendant was found to be liable.
[16] Such applications are rarely granted in Manitoba, in accordance with Justice Guy Joseph Kroft's decision in Investors Syndicate v Pro-Fund Distributors Ltd which held that it is the "normal preference of the court ... to hear and determine all issues at one time and to discourage the piecemeal trial of actions.
Here the motions court judge, in the exercise of his discretion, while recognizing the criteria set forth in Investors Syndicate, gave, in the particular circumstances before him, significant weight to considerations of the plaintiff's impecuniosity and the resulting access to justice issue.
[25] The board's mandate is to provide an independent, merit-based recommendation to fill the vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin.