It’s official – a party bus is more bus than party, and we know that because a Nova Scotian judge has ruled on the matter.
When a woman “fell heavily on her knees” on a vehicle run by Party Bus Atlantic Inc. the question was which coverage would apply – the motor vehicle policy from The Cooperators Group which covered the bus or the commercial general liability policy from Temple Insurance which covered the business.
The woman fell when the 45-passenger buses with enroute entertainment stopped suddenly, according to court documents.
"She says that Party Bus allowed the consumption of alcohol on the bus and permitted the spillage of alcohol on the floor," the documents read in part. The woman went on to sue Party Bus; at which point the two companies clashed as to which policy covered on-board injuries.
In her 16 page judgement released this week Justice Jamie Campbell noted that "Vehicles may be put to all kinds of novel uses, some of which may be creative and some just stupid."
"The situation would be different if the bus were being used as storage shed, a diving platform, or was being put to some use other than an ordinary and well-known activity to which vehicles are put," the judge said.
But fundamentally, whether a party broke out on it or not the bus was a mode of transportation, Campbell said.
"Whether they silently suffer through a trip to a destination or enjoy the mobile party atmosphere, does not change the fact that the purpose of the bus is to convey people," he said.
The decision means the motor vehicle policy provider must defend the passenger’s claim.
