Ryan Tinney

The appellants, Trafalgar Insurance and Economical Insurance, appealed an arbitrator's decision in a priority dispute regarding statutory accident benefits.

The arbitrator had found that Arch Insurance was not the insurer of the vehicle involved in the accident because the vehicle was not owned or leased by Arch's named insured, despite being mistakenly listed on a fleet schedule.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable and overriding error or error of law in the arbitrator's conclusion that the vehicle did not qualify as a 'described vehicle' under the OPCF 21A endorsement.

A related costs appeal was also dismissed as premature.

The applicant, Ontario, sought a declaration that its insurer, St. Paul, owed a duty to defend it in an underlying class action regarding bail system delays.

Ontario argued St. Paul was estopped from denying coverage due to its delay in communicating its position.

The court found no estoppel, as Ontario controlled its own defence and suffered no prejudice.

On the coverage issue, the court held the true nature of the underlying claims involved harms that were expected from Ontario's policy choices, which fell outside the policy's definition of an 'occurrence' or 'accident'.

The application was dismissed.

The plaintiff, Quality Truck Bodyshop Inc., sought summary judgment against Acear Inc. and Scottish & York Insurance Co. Limited for over $300,000 in towing, tear down, and storage fees for a stolen and recovered commercial truck.

The defendants opposed, arguing that granting partial summary judgment would lead to increased costs, delays, and potential inconsistent findings, citing the three-part test from Malik v. Attia.

The court dismissed the motion for summary judgment, agreeing that it was not appropriate given the related ongoing actions and the risk of duplication or inconsistent findings.

This endorsement arises from a case conference in a complex action involving TD Bank and numerous insurance underwriters.

The court addressed the management of three pending discovery motions (defendants' refusals, plaintiff's refusals, and defendants' motion for a second discovery representative) and trial management issues.

The court declined the plaintiff's request to expand their refusals motion, permitted the plaintiff to withdraw their existing refusals motion without prejudice, and vacated the scheduled trial date of September 13, 2021, as the action was not ready.

The court provided specific case management directions for completing discoveries, updating motion materials, and preparing for a future trial date.