Douglas Wallace

The applicant, who was found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for an aggravated assault due to schizophrenia, sought a declaration that his insurer owed a duty to defend him in a civil action brought by the victim.

The victim's claim was framed in negligence.

The court found that the negligence claim was derivative of the intentional tort of assault.

Furthermore, the court held that despite the NCR finding, the applicant's actions were both intentional and criminal within the meaning of the insurance policy's exclusion clauses.

The application was dismissed, and the insurer was found to have no duty to defend.

The defendant in a certified class action moved for partial summary judgment and sought leave under Rule 39.02 to admit an expert psychiatric report obtained after the representative plaintiff was cross-examined on her affidavits.

The plaintiff objected, arguing the defendant split its case and failed to comply with the court-ordered timetable.

The court dismissed the motion for leave, finding the defendant provided no adequate explanation for failing to obtain the evidence earlier and that admitting the late report would cause non-compensable prejudice to the plaintiff given the agreed-upon timetable.

The applicant insurer appealed an arbitration decision regarding priority to pay statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The arbitrator had found that the injured mother and her two children were not principally financially dependent on the mother's new partner because their relationship lacked 'permanence' or 'likely permanence,' leading him to use a 12-month pre-accident timeframe.

The Superior Court held that requiring permanency was an error of law and that the arbitrator improperly speculated on the future of the relationship.

The court found that the mother and children were principally financially dependent on the partner at the time of the accident, making the respondent insurer responsible for the benefits.