Dismissal of jail assault lawsuit upheld
Court of Appeal rules judge well within discretion to toss court action brought by Thomas William Jack, 45, of Fredericton, for 2011 beating at Saint John Regional Correctional Centre
A Fredericton man who was severely beaten while in custody at a New Brunswick jail won’t get a second chance at suing the province, as an appeal court dismissed his case this week.
Thomas William Jack, 45, of Fredericton, sought to sue the provincial government in 2013 over serious injuries he sustained at the hands of another inmate when he was remanded at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre in 2011.
However, Court of King’s Bench Justice Richard Petrie granted a government motion last fall to dismiss the lawsuit for over inordinate delays, as more than a decade after Jack filed it, it had yet to be ready to proceed to trial.
Jack, through new counsel, filed a notice of appeal of that decision, and the New Brunswick Court of Appeal heard arguments in the case in February.
But in a decision issued Thursday, the province’s top court dismissed Jack’s appeal.