Zac Cooper

Following the dismissal of the applicants' insurance coverage application, the parties made written submissions on costs.

The respondent sought $100,000 based on a pre-hearing costs agreement, or alternatively $254,566.28 on a partial indemnity basis.

The applicants argued the agreement should not be enforced because the respondent's evolving position caused them to incur significant additional costs.

The court enforced the costs agreement, finding no breach or vitiating factors, and awarded the respondent $100,000 for the application plus $8,136 for the costs submissions.

The applicant restaurant chain sought a declaration of coverage under its commercial 'all risks' insurance policy for business interruption losses caused by government-mandated closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The applicant argued that coverage was triggered under the policy's civil authority and ingress/egress extensions.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the policy required 'direct physical loss or damage' to trigger coverage.

The court held that the COVID-19 virus and the resulting government orders did not cause direct physical loss or damage to the insured's property, and therefore the losses did not fall within the policy's coverage.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's action regarding a defective boiler system installation, arguing the claim was statute-barred by the two-year limitation period.

The plaintiff argued it did not discover the fundamental incompatibility of the boiler systems until it received a draft engineering report in July 2015, having previously relied on advice that the issues were minor operational problems.

The court dismissed the motion, finding a genuine issue for trial regarding when the plaintiff had actual or constructive knowledge of the material facts giving rise to the claim, particularly given the plaintiff's reliance on the defendants' professional advice.