The insured was granted leave to appeal the decision of an arbitrator where the arbitrator took a “fault-based” analysis in determining an insurer’s obligations under a policy rather than applying the principles of contractual interpretation. Bal v. British Columbia (Ministry of Agriculture), [2013] B.C.J. No. 2345, October 25, 2013, British Columbia Supreme Court, L.A. Warren ...
An insurer cannot deny coverage on the basis of an insured’s failure to notify of a material change in the risk where the insurer has knowledge of the change in the risk, even if the knowledge is imputed to the insurer by way of agency. Mah v. Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co., [2013] A.J. No. 1164, October ...
An insurer’s application for summary judgment was dismissed as the court could not determine the limitation period for a claim alleging bad faith. Redden v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Co., [2013] N.B.J. No. 309, October 4, 2013, New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench, P.C. Garnett J.
An insured does not “own” a residence if he or she does not have right of alienation to the residence. The plain meaning of where one lives is the answer to the question “Where is your home?”. Carscallen v. Chubb Insurance Co. of Canada, [2013] A.J. No. 780, July 22, 2013, Alberta Court of Appeal, ...
An insurer was found liable for one half of judgment on the basis of equitable contribution and restitution. Aviva Insurance Co. of Canada v. Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada, [2013] O.J. No. 2851, June 20, 2013, Ontario Court of Appeal, R.A. Blair, M.H. Tulloch and P.D. Lauwers JJ.A.
An insurer successfully overturned an order for coverage on the basis that interpretive aids of reasonable expectation and nullification of coverage should not be applied in interpreting unambiguous terms in an insurance policy. Turpin v. Manufacturers Life Insurance, [2013] B.C.J. No. 1271, June 17, 2013, British Columbia Court of Appeal, S.D. Frankel, K.E. Neilson and ...
The court of appeal rejected the application of the American Stonewall Principle and refused to pro-rate deductibles even where deductibles were larger than the pro-rated payout for ‘long-tail’ claims. Goodyear Canada Inc. v. American International Companies, [2013] O.J. No. 2746, June 13, 2013, Ontario Court of Appeal, J.I. Laskin, E.A. Cronk and A. Hoy JJ.A
The court considered the law of derivative claims in ordering an insurer to defend an insured where there were allegations of both wilful and negligent conduct. Despite potential conflict, the insurer retained the right to appoint and instruct counsel in the defence of the action. 2091533 Ontario Ltd. v. Vertigo Investments Ltd., [2013] O.J. No. ...
In reasons focusing on the need for deterrence, punitive damages awards of $1,500,000 and $3,000,000 were made against two insurers respectively. The court also awarded aggravated damages of $150,000 and $300,000 against each insurer respectively for breaching the peace of mind contracts. Branco v. American Home Assurance Co., [2013] S.J. No. 151, March 21, 2013, ...
