BC Supreme Court considers the Insurance Act’s dispute resolution process
Introduction In King v. Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2022 BCSC 973, the BC Supreme Court (the “Court”) held that Ms. Paula King (the “Insured”) could not opt out of the mandatory dispute resolution process (“DRP”) she had commenced pursuant...
A foul ball to the head: No negligence established under the Occupier’s Liability Act
Introduction The British Columbia Court of Appeal, in Rivers v North Vancouver (District), 2021 BCCA 407, considered a negligence claim brought pursuant to the common law and British Columbia’s Occupiers Liability Act (the “Act”). In doing so, they clarified what...
British Columbia Court of Appeal comments on the test for want for prosecution applications
Introduction The Court of Appeal for British Columbia (the “Court of Appeal”), in Drennan v Smith, 2022 BCCA 86, provided significant commentary on want for prosecution applications and warned of possible changes to come. Mr. Tyler Drennan (the “Appellant”) appealed...
The Supreme Court of Canada addresses promissory estoppel in the insurance context
Introduction In the recent decision of Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada considered the application of the doctrine of promissory estoppel in the context of a...
Case Commentary: Nelson (City) v. Marchi, 2021 SCC 41 – The Supreme Court of Canada clarifies the distinction between core and non-core policy decisions
Introduction In the recent decision of Nelson (City) v. Marchi, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law with respect to what constitutes a “core policy decision” rendering a government or public authority immune from liability. In this particular case,...
Henderson v. Northbridge General Insurance Corporation, 2021 BCSC 1841: The duty to defend claims alleging intentional acts
Introduction Recently, in the context of an alleged “shaken baby” claim, the Supreme Court of British Columbia considered whether an insurer had a duty to defend a claim against its insured arising from allegations framed in both negligence and assault. ...
British Columbia Court of Appeal clarifies indivisibility analysis
Introduction The Court of Appeal for British Columbia (the “Court of Appeal”), in Neufeldt v. Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, 2021 BCCA 327, recently provided significant commentary on the important yet difficult issue of indivisible injuries. Insurance Corporation of British...
Court of Québec orders insurance policy disclosure in dispute
Twenty-five years ago, Louis Champagne radiomutuel inc.[1] established the right to obtain a copy of the opposing party’s insurance policy in order to involve its insurer in the claim. This right was confirmed in a recent Court of Québec judgment.[2]...
Helen Friedman and Emily Compton’s law blog post was published by LexisNexis
LexisNexis
The original article, Accountability for the section 7(4) accounting report: When is it ‘reasonable and necessary’? was written for our insurance law blog on May 18, 2021. It discusses that Ontario Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule for insurers to fund accounting...
Changes in “occupants” found not to be a material change in risk for the purpose of voiding a home insurance policy
The British Columbia Supreme Court in Dubroy v. Canadian Northern Shield Insurance Co., 2021 BCSC 352 held that a home insurance policy was not rendered void because there was no material change in risk arising from a change in occupants....
