Category Archives: Insurance News

Catch-all category for developments in the law of insurance.

Insurer’s Denial of Claim that Ultimately Succeeds Not Bad Faith: S.C.C.

In a decision that will be of great interest to insurers, the Supreme Court of Canada today struck down a $100,000 award of punitive damages that had been made against a disability insurer. In Fidler v. Sun Life Assurance, the plaintiff had … Continue reading

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1991 Installation of Fireplace Held to be ‘Accident’ Triggering Coverage for 2003 Fire Claim

    [This post contains a correction at the end, dealing with the apportionment of contributions between the two policies. We had previously said that contribution by equal shares had been ordered; in fact, Power J. ordered proportionate contribution by policy … Continue reading

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S.C.C. Weighs In on Claims-Made Policies

The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada v. Guardian Insurance last Thursday. This is an important decision for anyone working or practising in the field of insurance law. In addition to its adjudication … Continue reading

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C.A. Upholds Punitive Damages Award in Fire Insurance Case, but Reduces Aggravated Damages

 The Court of Appeal today released its decision in Plester v. Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, a lawsuit that involved a disputed claim on a policy of fire insurance. Two of the insureds (a married couple) owned a furniture store and … Continue reading

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Partial Indemnity Costs Can Equal 100% of Actual Fees

Last week’s decision of Mr. Justice David Corbett in a family law case is actually an important one for counsel acting for insurance companies. In Mantella v. Mantella, a husband and wife were involved in bitter matrimonial litigation. As seems to … Continue reading

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“Insured v. Insured” Exclusion Doesn’t Apply to Claim by Insured’s Liquidator

Markham General Insurance Company was ordered wound up in July, 2002. The liquidator of Markham is now suing its former directors and officers, alleging that they negligently managed the company. Those defendants, in turn, had D & O coverage with … Continue reading

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C.A. Rules $3.1 Million AB Settlement Enforceable Despite Claimant’s Death

The Court of Appeal ruled today, in Wu v. Zurich Insurance Company, that a $3.1 million settlement of an accident benefits claim was enforceable by the estate of the injured claimant, who died before the settlement had been approved by … Continue reading

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Cavanagh Again Makes LEXPERT’s “Recommended” List of Commercial Insurance Lawyers

For the second consecutive year, Steve Cavanagh was one of a small group of eastern Ontario lawyers who were rated by LEXPERT magazine as “Recommended” in the field of “Litigation–Commercial Insurance”. The others were David Scott and Bruce Carr-Harris of … Continue reading

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Late Reporting Defeats Claims Under Two Claims-made Policies

 In Brelih et al. v. The St. Paul Companies Inc. et al., a decision of Madam Justice Joan Lax of the Ontario Superior Court, it was held that the insured’s delay in reporting a claim resulted in there being no … Continue reading

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C.A. Narrows CGL’s “Your Work” Exclusion

 In an important decision released this afternoon, the Court of Appeal held that the “your work” exclusion in a CGL policy (often referred to as a “business risk” exclusion) did not apply where the complained-of work had been performed by … Continue reading

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