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Insurer cannot relitigate liability or damages under s. 132(1).
The insurer appealed from a ruling in an action brought under s. 132(1) of the Insurance Act after the respondents obtained a negligence judgment against the insured and execution was returned unsatisfied.
The Court of Appeal held that the statutory cause of action permits recovery of the amount of the judgment, up to the face value of the policy, subject only to the same equities the insurer would have against its insured.
The insurer could not relitigate the insured's liability or the respondents' damages, nor could it allege that the original judgment was vitiated by the respondents' own fraud.
The appeal was dismissed with costs.
Public policy prevents a husband who murdered his wife from claiming their joint life insurance proceeds.
A husband and wife purchased a joint life insurance policy naming the survivor as the beneficiary.
The husband subsequently murdered his wife and claimed the insurance proceeds.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that public policy prevented the husband from recovering the proceeds as a wrongdoer cannot profit from his crime.
The Court further held that the contract could not be interpreted to require payment to the wife's estate, nor could a constructive trust be imposed, as the insurer was simply complying with the express terms of the contract and there was no unjust enrichment.
