Barry James Sullivan

The plaintiff moved for a contempt finding against RBC Life Insurance Company and Anna Watroba for alleged non-compliance with a prior order to produce the complete RBC Claims Manual, also seeking disclosure of officers' names and striking of the defence.

The court found the original order ambiguous regarding the scope of "complete manual" beyond the 67 headings initially referenced in evidence.

As contempt requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt of a clear, unequivocal order and intentional breach, the ambiguity precluded such a finding.

The court dismissed all of the plaintiff's requests, noting the underlying issue was inaccurate evidence provided by the defendants in the prior motion, not a clear breach of the order.

No costs were awarded due to the defendants' role in creating the problem through inaccurate evidence.

The plaintiff brought a motion to compel the defendants to fulfill discovery undertakings and answer refused questions.

The court ruled that leave under Rule 48.04 of the Rules of Civil Procedure was not required for motions related to undertakings or refusals, interpreting Rule 48.04(2)(b)(iii) as an exception.

The court ordered the defendants to provide contact information for former employees, produce the "I Make It Right" guidelines, and the complete RBC Claims Manual.

It denied the request for information on the number of drug testing requests on other files due to proportionality concerns.

The court ordered a further and better answer regarding the generation of a payment chart.

It also addressed the discoverability of RBC's profitability, declining to compel detailed financial information at this stage, consistent with the principles against premature disclosure before liability is established in bad faith claims.