Articles 2021

The issue of whether an intentional action can be properly framed in negligence dates back to the seminal case of Non-Marine Underwriters, Lloyd’s of London v. Scalera. Since then, the courts have repeatedly proclaimed that such attempts are futile. However, this has not stopped counsel from attempting to disguise intentional torts as negligence within their pleadings.

Information about two developments at the LAT pertaining to a Preliminary Issue Hearings Practice Direction for AABS matters and the updating of Rule 13 of the Licence Appeal Tribunal Rules, 2023.

A Review of the Recent Ontario Court of Appeal Decision in Kolapully v. Myles, 2024

Where claimants are injured by hot liquids or coffee while inside an automobile, an application for accident benefits was subject to a preliminary motion to determine if an “accident” occurred pursuant to s.3(1) of the SABS.

Bifurcation is a rarely utilized but effective procedural tool commonly used to sever a trial into two separate phases: liability and damages.

The recent decision of Yatar v. TD Insurance Meloche Monnex brings a much-needed addition to the caselaw pertaining to the proper approach for judicial review of administrative decisions. While a court does have discretion to hear an application for judicial review and decide issues on the merits, including whether to deny relief, this discretion does not extend to declining consideration of the application for judicial review altogether.

Third party claims are intricately connected to allegations pleaded in the statement of claim. When a plaintiff does not claim damages from anyone other than the defendant, the defendant cannot pursue a claim for contribution and indemnity. An employer may find themselves unable to pursue a third party claim against a disability benefits provider when the plaintiff seeks recovery for disability benefits in the context of a wrongful termination action.

So-called “long-tail claims”, i.e. claims where the alleged damage spans a number of years, pose various coverage challenges for insurers and policyholders. On February 27, 2024, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its decision in Loblaw Companies Limited v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, 2024 ONCA 145 (CanLII) (“Loblaw”), where it tried to bring some clarity to some of the material coverage issues that arise with these types of claims.

What is a corporation’s obligations when a unit owner complains about noise from another unit owner?

Legal arguments over the meaning of a single term may seem like little more than semantic squabbles to those unfamiliar with insurance law. However, small interpretative disputes are often at the center of high-value insurance claims. The analysis of these disputes frequently determines whether the case ends in a big payout, or with a justifiably denied claim.