Commercial Transactions and All-Risks Coverage
How can a commercial transaction be the subject of indemnity under an all-risks policy? In Heart Zap Services Inc. v. Lloyd’s Underwriters, 2019 ONSC 3667 the plaintiff, Heart Zap Services Inc., received an order from Dr. Thomas Hardy for 25...
The Worth of “Diminished Value” Claims in Ontario – Update
In past blogs,[1] my colleague, Patricia Forte, has tracked the case law on the state of “diminished value” claims in Ontario. A recent Superior Court case, Zheng v. Certas Home and Auto Insurance Co.,[2] provides further insight as to the...
Demetriou v. AIG: The Burden of Proof and the Requirement to Plead Fraud
Mr. Demetriou had a family heirloom ring appraised. It was worth $550,000. He insured the ring against theft with AIG Insurance Company of Canada (“AIG”) in July 2015, and was to pay an annual premium of over $10,000. A few...
Umbrella Insurance Policies: Should you have one?
What is Umbrella Insurance? Personal umbrella insurance is a type of insurance policy designed to add extra liability coverage over and above another insurance policy, such as auto, boat, or homeowners. The extra coverage applies when the liability limits of...
The Deduction of Accident Benefits in Tort Actions
In the 2018 decisions of Cadieux v. Clouthier and Carroll v. McEwen, the Ontario Court of Appeal clarified the manner in which accident benefits are to be deducted from awards of tort damages. In the past, there were two approaches....
Update: No Civil Fraud Says Ontario Court of Appeal – Overturning Paulus v. Fleury
Earlier this year, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice refused to enforce a settlement after finding that the plaintiffs’ lawyer had engaged in civil fraud by misrepresenting the independence of two witnesses at a pre-trial conference. In addition to refusing...
Who is the Lessee? Whoever the Lessor Can Sue to Enforce the Lease – An Update on Insurer Priority of Third Party Claims Involving Lessors
Who can a lessor sue to enforce a lease? In a recent decision on priority of payment in a motor vehicle tort action, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice resolved the priority dispute by answering this question. In Aviva Insurance...
The Common Law is Sometimes Not So Common — ONCA Releases Contradictory Decisions on Municipal Liability in Nearly Identical Cases
Canada is a common law jurisdiction. The heart of the common law is that like cases are to be treated alike. This fundamental principle of the common law is upheld through the use of appellate courts. A judge of a...
Who can be Present at an Examination for Discovery?
Answering the question of who should be allowed to attend at an examination for discovery involves an exercise in balancing two competing interests: the interest of upholding the privacy of examinations as a pre-trial discovery process relevant to the parties’...
When a Spouse is not a Spouse
The Superior Court has recently had the opportunity to revisit an issue that has not been addressed by the courts in twenty years: whether the Family Law Act definition of “spouse” applies to the Insurance Act definition of “spouse”. For...
