Don Rollo

The plaintiffs purchased a cottage property with the intention of severing it into three lots, relying on the defendant solicitor's advice that severance would be straightforward due to a Planning Act consent stamp on title.

The solicitor later admitted this advice was negligent, as the consent was qualified and severance was not guaranteed.

The plaintiffs sued for the lost hypothetical value of the severed lots and carrying costs.

The court applied the Messineo measure of damages, finding that the plaintiffs suffered no loss because they paid fair market value for the unsevered property, which had since significantly increased in value.

The court awarded only $3,100 in special damages for the wasted retainer and application fees.

Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company sued Barry Marta and Lawson LLP for solicitor's negligence.

The lawyer defendants moved under Rule 21.01(3)(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure to have the action stayed or dismissed, arguing Wawanesa lacked legal capacity to sue, contending the claim was a subrogated action requiring the insured's name.

The court dismissed the motion, finding Wawanesa, as a licensed insurance company, possessed the legal capacity to commence the action, and that the motion under Rule 21.01(3)(b) was not for assessing the merits of the claim.

The intervener insurer brought a motion to determine whether it could deny coverage based on an Excluded Driver Endorsement signed by the defendant driver.

The court found that the form used by the insurer was not the standard form approved by the Superintendent of Financial Services, as it failed to list the specific vehicles to which the exclusion applied.

Furthermore, the insurer failed to prove it had delivered a copy of the endorsement to the insured upon renewal.

The court held the insurer could not rely on the unapproved form and is obligated to defend and indemnify the defendant.