D. Salmers

The moving party bank sought summary judgment dismissing claims alleging that its registered mortgage formed part of a fraudulent land transaction scheme.

The plaintiffs alleged that a prior partial discharge of their charge and subsequent transfers were fraudulent and that the bank had knowledge of the fraud through its solicitors or should have conducted further inquiries.

Applying the summary judgment framework articulated in Combined Air Mechanical Services Inc. v. Flesch, the court found no genuine issue requiring a trial.

The record established that the bank had no actual, deemed, or constructive knowledge of fraud and was entitled to rely on the land titles register.

The plaintiffs’ failure to understand the acknowledgment authorizing the discharge and their failure to register notice of their interest for more than two years contributed to any alleged losses.

The applicant sought a declaration that his home insurer owed both a duty to defend and indemnity exposure in an underlying Family Law Act action arising from a fatal drug overdose on his property.

Applying the three-step framework from Supreme Court of Canada authority, the court characterized the pleaded claims as genuinely grounded in negligence rather than merely relabelled intentional or criminal wrongdoing.

The court held the negligence claims were non-derivative and potentially within policy coverage for negligent acts.

The insurer was therefore required to provide a defence and coverage for non-excluded negligent claims in the underlying action.