KHODR & COBB: STATUTORY DEDUCTIBLE, AND PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST RATE, AND RULE 49 OFFERS, AND COSTS, OH MY!
On Sept. 19, 2017, Ontario insurers took home two big wins from the Court of Appeal. The judgments, from two separate cases collectively dubbed Khodr & Cobb, will result in significant changes to the damages side of MVA tort cases.
NO LIMITATION PERIOD IN LOSS TRANSFER?
By MARK COOMBS Student at Law Section 275 of the Insurance Act creates a loss transfer mechanism which allows an insurer of one class of automobile to be reimbursed by another insurer of a different class of automobile for all or part of an accident benefits claim. The “first party insurer” pays accident benefits to [...]
Prejudgment Interest Rate Applies to Motor Vehicle Accidents after January 1, 2015
Overview In the decision of El-Khodr v Lackie 2015 ONSC 4766, the court decided that from January 1, 2015 onward, prejudgment interest will be calculated at the bank rate as opposed to the rate of 5% pursuant to Rule 53.10 of the Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”). However, all actions beginning prior to January [...]
Substance Over Form – Whether a Defendant or Third Party: Renter Pays First
Where an automobile is leased or rented and involved in a motor vehicle accident, section 277(1.1) of the Insurance Act, sets out the order in which insurance policies are to respond. The section states that “the third party liability provisions of any available motor vehicle liability policies shall respond” in the following order: insurance available [...]
NO LICENCE, NO COVERAGE – RIGHT? WRONG.
Back in September, Colin Chant enlightened us on the topic of insurance coverage where an insured drives without a licence. Justice Wood of the Superior Court of Justice concluded that Barbara Kozel, a 77-year-old who had severely injured a motorcyclist in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, was entitled to insurance coverage even though she [...]
Court Finds for Love Without Benefits
The law has at times struggled to make sense of the changing nature of modern relationships. With more and more people delaying marriage, and living together in relationships that fall outside of marriage, the courts have been forced to address the circumstances under which non-married persons qualify as spouses for insurance purposes. The recent Ontario [...]
Want to Assign Accident Benefits as Part of a Tort Settlement? Think Again
In the recent decision D’Ettorre v. Coachman Insurance Co., 2012 ONSC 3613, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on judicial review concluded that an assignment of a plaintiff’s Statutory Accident Benefits as part of a settlement of a tort claim was impermissible at law.
This Time It’s Not Business – It’s Personal
A man walked into a car rental office and rented a car. He was on a business trip. While driving the rented car, the man is involved in a collision with the plaintiff. The man’s insurer said that since the man was on business the real renter of the car was the man’s employer, and [...]
No End to the Duty to Defend
In the recent decision Jevco Insurance Co. v. Malaviya, 2013 ONSC 675, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that in the context of Ontario’s Standard Automobile Policy (OAP 1), a primary insurer has an ongoing duty to defend its insured, even where the insurer has offered to pay the policy limits.
Changing Horses Midstream: The Sequel
Gordyukova v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co., 2012 ONCA 563, is an appeal from a decision of the Divisional Court on judicial review. The issue on appeal is the interpretation of the limitation period provision set out in s. 281.1(1) of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.i-8. My colleague, Ms. Forough Ghorbani, discussed the [...]