Insurers had duty to defend insureds against claim for damages arising from alleged migration of contamination notwithstanding environmental and pollution liability exclusions in policies

13. February 2018 0
Insurance law – Commercial general liability insurance – Pollution exclusions – Duty to defend – Costs – Special costs West Van Holdings Ltd. v. Economical Mutual Insurance Co., [2017] B.C.J. No. 2670, 2017 BCSC 2397, British Columbia Supreme Court, December 29, 2017, DeWitt-Van Oosten J. The insureds were sued for damages allegedly due to the migration ...

Mortgagor’s claim to proceeds of fire loss paid out under standard mortgage clause took priority over CRA’s claim due to mortgagee’s tax liability

13. February 2018 0
Insurance law – Mortgages – Standard mortgage clause – Priority coverage Travelers Canada v. Elite Builders Inc., [2017] N.J. No. 432, 2017 NLTD(G) 214, Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court – Trial Division – General Division, December 22, 2017, G.L. Murphy J. A dispute arose between the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) and a mortgage lender over ...

Insured’s soft-tissue injuries did not amount to “permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental, or psychological function” and therefore award of general damages by jury disallowed

13. February 2018 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Unidentified motorist – Statutory obligations – Damages – Permanent impairment, definition – Damages – Jury trials Nadarajah v. Aviva Canada Inc., [2017] O.J. No. 6571, 2017 ONSC 7522, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, December 18, 2017, P.J. Monahan J. The insured brought a claim for damages arising out of a motor ...

Appeal from partial summary judgment in which court made a declaration relating to the interpretation of a section of a banker’s comprehensive liability policy allowed

13. February 2018 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Directors and officers liability insurance – Interpretation of policy – Statutory provisions – Practice – Appeals – Summary judgments TD Bank N.A. v. Lloyd’s Underwriters, [2017] O.J. No. 6722, 2017 ONCA 1011, Ontario Court of Appeal, December 21, 2017, J.M. Simmons, D.M. Brown and J.M. Fairburn JJ.A. The insurer appealed ...

Insured entitled to indemnity under policy of insurance for theft claim arising out of two accidents in which her motor vehicle was involved and taken without her permission

12. December 2017 0
Insurance law – Automobile insurance – Theft of vehicle – Terms of policy – Rights and duties of insured Boyle v. Insurance Corp. of British Columbia, [2017] B.C.J. No. 1969, 2017 BCSC 1762, British Columbia Supreme Court, October 2, 2017, M.B. Blok J. The insured brought a claim against ICBC for indemnity under her policy of ...

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench finds insurer has duty to defend insured in third party proceedings arising from workplace injury

12. December 2017 0
Insurer found to have duty to defend insured in third party proceedings in which it was alleged the insured had breached its contract with the defendant, the Court finding the plaintiff’s claim against the defendant was in negligence and therefore the third party claim could be established on the grounds of negligence. Insurance law – ...

Insurer found not to have duty to defend based on CGL policy exclusions in an action where insureds allegedly supplied defective grape vines

12. December 2017 0
Insurer found not to have a duty to defend the insureds in an action in which it was alleged they supplied defective grape vines based on three exclusions in a “Business Choice” commercial general liability policy Insurance law – Commercial general liability insurance – Duty to defend – Exclusions – Damages Mori-Vines Inc. v. Northbridge ...

No coverage for additional insured where claim against additional insured did not arise solely out of the operations of the primary insured

12. December 2017 0
Insurance law – Liability insurance – Duty to defend – Additional named insured – Practice – Underlying action Brookfield Johnson Controls Canada LP (c.o.b. Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions) v. Continental Casualty Co., [2017] O.J. No. 5173, 2017 ONSC 5978, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, October 5, 2017, J.E. Ferguson J. The insured sought a declaration ...

ONCA declines to rule on merits of an appeal in light of apparent conflict of interest between insured’s counsel and insured

12. December 2017 0
Ontario Court of Appeal declines to rule on merits of an appeal in light of an apparent conflict of interest between the insured’s counsel and the insured, given the insured’s counsel had brought an appeal of a decision finding there was no coverage under two additional policies of insurance which, if upheld, would likely result ...