Paisley Irregulars Essay Competition in Negligence Law

About The Competition

The Paisley Irregulars Essay Competition in Negligence Law was established in 2021 in recognition of the Honourable Martin R. Taylor KC, a former Justice of the British Columbia Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, and Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. Mr. Taylor led the Canadian Bar Association’s 1990 Paisley Conference on the Law of Negligence (aka the “Pilgrimage to Paisley”). That conference commemorated the 60th anniversary of the judgment of the House of Lords in Donoghue v. Stevenson, [1932] AC 562, 1932 SC(HL) 31, which established the duty of care principle in Anglo-Canadian negligence law. He was also a speaker at the 2012 Paisley Snail Conference organized by the University of West Scotland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the judgment, and the May 2022 “Immortal Snail” Conference organized by the Law Society of Scotland to commemorate the 90th anniversary.

The objectives of the Paisley Irregulars Essay Competition in Negligence Law are: 

1. To honour Mr. Taylor’s work and interest in Donoghue v. Stevenson, 

2. To further scholarship on the topic of duty of care in negligence law, and 

3. To promote and reward interest and participation by law students and articled students in legal scholarship, particularly in negligence law. 

The Competition is open to Canadian law students and articled students. Papers submitted for academic credit at law school are eligible (which may be revised for submission to the Competition). The Paisley Irregulars funds a cash prize of $1000 to the author of winning entry (and we have secured agreement with a leading BC law journal to publish the winning paper). The winning paper will also be linked to this website. Papers will be judged by a committee designated by the Paisley Irregulars.

Download the  official Rules of the Competition here.

Download the Call for Submissions poster advertisement for the Competition here.

The Paisley Irregulars takes its name from Paisley, Scotland. There, in August 1928, an unnamed friend of May Donoghue purchased a ginger beer float for Ms. Donoghue at the Wellmeadow Café owned and operated by Francis Minghella. A ginger beer manufactured by Mr. Stevenson’s brewery, in an opaque bottle (example 1, example 2, example 3) was brought to their table and some of the contents of the bottle were poured over ice cream in a glass. Ms. Donoghue poured more ginger beer into the glass and alleged that the decomposing remains of a snail came out of the bottle and that she suffered gastroenteritis. On 26 May 1932, the House of Lords issued its landmark judgment setting out the “duty of care” (neighbour) principle that has since guided the common law world. Today, the Wellmeadow Café and the Stevenson Brewery are gone, but there now stand both a monument at the site of the former Wellmeadow Cafe to commemorate the 1990 Pilgrimage to Paisley organized by Mr. Taylor under the auspices of the Canadian Bar Association and a statue in honour of the famous pursuer (plaintiff), May Donoghue, cast in bronze in 2018.

The Paisley Irregulars’ Favourite Resources about Donoghue v. Stevenson

(not a definitive nor exhaustive listing of available resources)

1. Donoghue v. Stevenson, [1932] AC 562, 1932 SC(HL) 31 (judgment on BAILII)

2. Scottish Law Reports - Introduction to the Donoghue v Stevenson Digital Resources

3. Scottish Legal News - Session Cases At 200: Lord Kinclaven makes the case for Donoghue v Stevenson

4. The Paisley Snail: Donoghue v. Stevenson film (Justice Education Society of British Columbia, directed by David Hay and Michael Doherty, 1996)

5. The Honourable Martin R. Taylor QC, ”Mrs. Donoghue’s Journey” (from the Scottish Law Reports Donoghue v Stevenson Digital Resources)

6. Donoghue v. Stevenson and the modern law of negligence : the Paisley papers : the proceedings of the Paisley Conference on the Law of Negligence (Peter T Burns; Susan J Lyons; Vancouver : Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, 1991.

7. Canadian Lawyer magazine, “Commemorating the Paisley snail case” (2012)

8. The Honourable Mr. Justice Martin R. Taylor, “A Pilgrimage to Paisley”, (1986), 44 The Advocate (Van.) 329

9. The Honourable Martin R. Taylor QC, “The Return of the Pilgrims: A Second Paisley Conference on the Law of Negligence”, (2012) 70 The Advocate (Van.) 661

10. John Kleefeld, “The Donoghue Diaries”, Juridical Review, 3: 375-450 (2013)

11. Donoghue v Stevenson 90th Anniversary Conference “The Immortal Snail”, organized by the Law Society of Scotland (see course brochure here)

12. Case on Appeal

13. “The Paisley Snail” (bagpipe tune commissioned by The Paisley Irregulars in tribute to The Honourable Martin R. Taylor QC, May 2014. Played by John Lee of Simon Fraser University)

14. “The Paisley Snail”, played by Alexandra Devitt (recorded May 2023)

15. Sheet music for “The Paisley Snail” (composer John Lee)

Paisley Irregulars On Vimeo

In May 2022, Martin Taylor and the Paisley Irregulars were invited to contribute videos to the Donoghue v Stevenson 90th Anniversary Conference “The Immortal Snail”, organized by the Law Society of Scotland (see course brochure here). Our videos are available on our Vimeo page, and are linked below for convenience. 

The Hon. Martin R. Taylor QC
A.F. (Sandy) Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, OBE
Richard J. Olson
Jane Ingman Baker
Bruce F. Fraser QC
David W. Hay QC
Gregory S. Pun QC