Christian J. Guerette

An employer appealed a Master's order granting a motion to amend a statement of claim to add the employer as a defendant in an action against an insurer for termination of long‑term disability benefits.

The employee, a unionized worker, sought to claim that the employer was liable for disability benefits after the insurer stopped payments.

The court held that the employee’s entitlement to disability benefits against the employer arose from the collective bargaining agreement and therefore fell within the exclusive jurisdiction of labour arbitration.

Because the employer was not an insurer under the policy and could not be sued in court for obligations arising under the collective agreement, the amendment adding the employer as a party was improper.

The appeal was allowed and the Master's order set aside.

Two applications sought interpretation of an insurance policy issued to a Children’s Aid Society concerning legal expense coverage for foster parents charged with Criminal Code offences.

The applicants argued that the $500,000 aggregate limit applied per policy year, allowing stacking across successive policy periods in which defence costs were incurred.

The insurer argued that the legal expense rider was a claims‑made policy triggered only in the policy period when the criminal proceedings commenced and that coverage was limited to a single $500,000 aggregate limit.

The court held that the wording of the rider allowed aggregate limits to accumulate across policy periods but concluded that the foster parents ceased to qualify as “insureds” after their termination.

As a result, recovery remained limited to the $500,000 aggregate available under the 2008–2009 policy.