Gavin Fior

The plaintiff's vehicle was stolen and he submitted a claim to his insurer.

The insurer initially declared the vehicle a total loss, prompting the plaintiff to purchase a replacement vehicle.

When the stolen vehicle was recovered weeks later, the insurer reversed its decision and elected to repair it, relying on section 8.6(6) of the OAP 1.

The court found that the insurer breached the insurance contract by failing to make its election to repair within the required seven days of the proof of loss.

The court also found the insurer breached its duty of good faith by misleading the plaintiff and failing to communicate promptly.

The plaintiff was awarded $22,894.31 in damages, representing the cash value of the vehicle at the time of loss less the salvage sale price, plus storage costs.

The defendant insurer, Pembridge, moved to compel the production of transcribed statements given by a co-defendant and a non-party to their insurer following a fatal motor vehicle collision.

Pembridge argued that the co-defendant's poor memory at discovery overcame litigation privilege.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that Pembridge failed to establish that there was no reasonable alternative form of evidence, as it had not questioned the co-defendant at discovery or attempted to examine the non-party.

The court also noted that summaries of the statements had already been provided.