A sad tale concisely told. :Peter of the August-Sjodin family: sp17ue did not sign the document but every page is covered with sploches of fingerprints, hopefully not from his dismembered digits. He headed each page of the document with the notation UCC 3-419. This, of course, is a section of the Uniform Commercial Code, one dealing with negitiable instruments, which you can read in it's entirety here;Part 1: STATEMENT OF FACTS
1 1. NOVEMBER 19,2014, LITTLE SHUSWAP LAKE INDIAN BAND LOANED A GAS POWERED HYDROLIC (sic) WOOD SPLITTER TO THE PLAINTIFF
2. WHEN PICKING UP THE MACHINE JAMIE TOMMA OF ISIB STATED THAT THE CHOKE ON THE WOOD SPLITTER NEEDED TO BE KEPT AT HALF CHOKE POSITION.
3. NO SAFTY (sic) TRAINING, MANUAL, CAUTIONS OR GEAR WERE RECOMMENDED OR EXPLAINED UPON RECIEVING (sic) THE HYDROLIC (sic) MACHINE EVER.
4. TEN MINUTES INTO SPLITTING WOOD THE PLAINTIFF AMPUTATED TWO FINGERS WITH THE MACHINE.
5. THE FINGERS WERE NOT RE-ATTACHED.
6. THE PLAINTIFF HAS BEEN A MUSICAN (sic) SINCE THE AGE OF 9, PROFESSIONAL MUSICAN (sic) SINCE THE AGE OF 13. THE LOST (sic) OFF (sic) THESE FINGERS HAS DRASTICALLY AFFECTED HIS MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND FAMILY WELLBEING, AS WELL AS HIS CAREER.
Part 2: RELIEF SOUGHT
1 1. THE PLAINTIFF IS SEEKING $5 MILLION CAD (CANADIAN DOLLARS) FUNCTIONAL FIAT CURRENCY PER FINGER FROM THE LITTLE SHUSWAP LAKE INDIAN BAND FOR PAIN AND SUFFERING, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL ANGUISH AND LOSS OF CAREER (RENOWN BASSIST AND GUITARIST).
Part 3: LEGAL BASIS
1 1. NEGLIGENCE:
A. THE LSIB LOANED A FAULTY MACHINE TO THE PLAINTIFF.
B. THE LSIB STAFF DID NOT GIVE THE PLAINTIFF SAFTY (sic) INSTRUCTIONS OR TRAINING REGARDING THE USE OF THE HYDROLIC (sic) WOOD SPLITTER. NO SAFETY GEAR WAS MENTIONED OR EVEN A MACHINE MANUEL (sic) LENT ALONG WITH THE MACHINE.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/3/3-419
Gives me a headache. Although Canadian Freemen love the UCC (Master Gee is a devotee) it is American law and not relevant to Canadian lawsuits. In any case this lawsuit is based on common law tort not statutory law.
Our injured party might be stretching the hypothetical financial loss from the accident. It seems to me that the claim "LOSS OF CAREER (RENOWN BASSIST AND GUITARIST)" might be more in the realm of wistful dreaming that a verifiable fact for tort claim purposes. I found his personal bio here;
http://www.canadianmusic.com/PeterAugust/epk/
But, as sparse as this is, it seems to be somewhat inflated. He claims to have been named the best bassist in Canada in 2005 but without saying who awarded him this distinction or for what works. Any confirmation of this honour must be buried deep in the bowels of Google because I couldn't find any reference to it at all apart from one that just linked to the above webpage. Maybe he bestowed it on himself in a dream.
He stated "I have also had the great pleasure of playing with Les Batenses, Les Copeland and our very own "Richard Underhill."" "Les Batenses" got, in total, five google hits, four of which refer back to the above webpage and the fifth is a Wikipedia error page. Les Copeland actually exists, he is a local British Columbia country blues guitarist with at least one album out. There is a "Richard Underhill" in Toronto who plays alto sax and has a significant performing history. However in the extensive listing on his website of the musicians he highlights as having played with he somehow neglected to note Peter August. It may not be the same Richard Underhill in any case since Peter August names him as "our very own "Richard Underhill"" implying there are others. And that seems to be it for musicians of any distinction that considered him good enough to accompany them.
Peter August is somewhat shy of information on his history of possible paid work as a musician. A few ambles through Mexico twenty years ago, some vague references to performances with locally known musicians, a mention of an album done in 2006 with no comment on sales, eight years later a second album released to apparently public non-acclaim. An information webpage not updated since 2008. A bit thin for justification for recompense for damages.
He makes a big deal about his group "Tribal "being the headlining group playing at the Tribal Funk Festival (now called Squilax Music Festival). The festival would have had a hard job turning him down since he apparently ran it;
http://www.salespider.com/bp-2268726/peter-augustsjodin
However is seems to be a very minor event. Little of any consequence about it on Google except that somebody called "Mystic Bowie" has played there a few times. I found a video of Mystic performing at the 2014 event. Seems like a community hall with a pretty sparse audience. The bassist might be our boy aged and filled out somewhat from his 2008 photo. I can't fairly comment on the music, I find reggae very dreary.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/8980/thr ... k+Festival
I also found this, undated, which seems to be our plaintiff at thirty-eight years old and looking for work as a musician. Available seven days a week and up for anything. Doesn't indicate much of a career to date after a quarter century as a journeyman musician.
http://www.bandmix.ca/palomo87/
The Little Shuswap Lake Indian Band of course replied denying everything. From their Response to notice of Civil Claim of December 24, 2014;
They even seem to imply he lost his fingers some other way and decided to blame them!3. The Plaintiff, Peter Allan August-Sjodin, is a member of the LSLIB.
4. The LSLIB owns various equipment, including a gas-operated "SplitFire Self Contained 3255 Two-Way Log Splitter" (the "Log Splitter").
5. When the LSUB is not using this equipment, including the Log Splitter, for its own purposes, it has made this equipment available to its members for their own personal use.
6. The Plaintiff has borrowed the Log Splitter from the LSLIB on several occasions, over the course of the past years.
7. The first time the Plaintiff borrowed the Log Splitter, one or more agents of the LSLIB provided instruction, and demonstrated to the Plaintiff the proper use and operation of the Log Splitter.
8. On the Log Splitter itself is a visible warning sign (the "Warning Sign") that states:
"DANGER NEVER! HANDLE WOOD BY THE SAWN ENDS!
BLOCKS SHOULD ALWAYS BE HELD ON THE BARK SIDES![ ... ]
REMOVE HANDS IMMEDIATELY WHEN KNIFE CONTACTS WOOD![ ... ]".
9. The Warning Sign also provides a two-picture diagram demonstrating both proper and improper hand positioning.
10. The Plaintiff did not provide, nor did the LSLIB ask for or receive any consideration for the use of the Log Splitter by the Plaintiff on any occasion.
11. On or about November 19, 2014, the Plaintiff again requested that the LSLIB make available to the Plaintiff the Log Splitter. The LSLIB made the Log Splitter available to the Plaintiff.
12.1n response to paragraph 2 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB denies that Jamie Tomma ("Tomma") or any of its agents stated that the choke on the Log Splitter needed to be kept in the half-choke position.
13.1n response to paragraph 4 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB denies that the Plaintiff was injured at the time and place and in the manner alleged in the Notice of Civil Claim.
14.1n further response to paragraph 4 and in response to paragraphs 5 and 6 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB denies that the Plaintiff has suffered, or continues to suffer, the injuries, damage, loss and/or expense as alleged in the Notice of Civil Claim.
15.1n response to paragraph 3 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB says that at all material times the Log Splitter was in a reasonable state of repair and condition for use by the Plaintiff, and that the Plaintiff was provided with adequate instruction as to the use and operation of the Log Splitter, and that the LSLIB is not in law responsible for any injuries, damages, loss and/or expense suffered by the Plaintiff.
16.1n the alternative and in further response to paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB says that the Plaintiff had used the Log Splitter on a number of prior occasions without incident, and that the inherent operational dangers were obvious to the Plaintiff and that the Plaintiff knew, or ought to have known of the same and the LSLIB says that the Plaintiff was the author of his alleged misfortune and pleads the doctrine of vo/enti non fit injuria as a complete defence to this action.
17.1n the alternative and in further response to the entirety of the Notice of Civil Claim and specifically paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of the Notice of Civil Claim, the LSLIB says that the alleged accident and resulting injuries, loss and damage and/or expense were not caused by any negligent act or omission or breach of any statutory duty on the part of the LSLIB, or its employees, but were caused solely, or contributed to by the deliberate actions of the Plaintiff or by the negligence of the Plaintiff, the particulars of which include:
a) In failing to exercise reasonable care for his own safety while operating the Log Splitter;
b) In failing to pay attention to the placement of his hands while operating the Log Splitter;
c) Placing his hands in the path of a relatively slow moving blade;
d) Failing to release the drive of the blade when the blade made contact with his hand;
e) In operating the Log Splitter in an unusual or unsafe manner;
f) In failing to take appropriate action to avoid the subject accident; and
g) Such other particulars of negligence as become known to the LSLIB.
21. On or about November 19, 2014, Tomma or another agent of the LSLIB advised the Plaintiff that the Log Splitter should be run for several minutes at half-choke to warm it up, not to operate it.
If it goes to court my money is on the Little Squamish Band.QUANTUM
6. The Plaintiff did not suffer injuries in the accident or to the degree alleged by the Plaintiff and has not suffered any damage, loss or expense.
7. The Plaintiff's injuries were pre-existing or occurred subsequent to the accident and were not caused or made worse by the accident.
8. The Plaintiff has failed to mitigate his injuries, damage, loss and expense.
Not being familiar with hydraulic wood splitters I looked them up on the internet and found this fearsome beast;
A homebuilt from the engine and transmission of a 1980 Datsun. If I tried to operate that monster I think I'd be fortunate to escape with the loss of just a pair of fingers.