Home » Court Hears Lawsuit Over Failure to Hold Handrail

Court Hears Lawsuit Over Failure to Hold Handrail

Apr 19, 2019|Escalators - Public Safety

She didn’t want to hold the handrail, but a woman in Canada refuses to release her grip on a case that began with her arrest 10 years ago in a subway station in the Montreal suburb of Laval. And, though charges against her were eventually dismissed, she felt like police and the city should be punished for the way she was treated. This week, the Canadian Supreme Court agreed to hear her side, CTV News reports.

It was in 2009 when a police officer saw Bela Kosoian riding the escalator without holding the handrail, even though the escalator was marked with a pictogram instructing riders to do so. An argument ensued, and Kosoian was ultimately detained for about 30 minutes, during which time she was handed a CAD100 (US$75) ticket for failing to hold the rail, and a CAD320 (US$240) ticket for refusing to identify herself to the officer. Her case was heard in municipal court in 2012, and she was acquitted of the charges. For the way she was treated, she filed a lawsuit against the city, the transit corporation and the police officer. Her case was twice rejected in Quebec courts, but the nation’s highest court took it up, and heard arguments on Tuesday. During the proceedings, Justice Clement Gascon said, “I suppose if we were to give out tickets to people not holding the handrail, we’d be issuing hundreds per hour.” There was no immediate indication of when the court might rule.