Insurance
Insurance coverage for defective construction
Submitted by Michael Dew on Sat, 2011-06-18 08:16
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TwitterSCC Decision: November 21, 2008
Submitted by Andrew Pilliar on Mon, 2008-11-24 11:55Canadian National Railway Co. v. Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada, 2008 SCC 66
Click here to link to the full judgment.
(Insurance / "All risk" insurance)
An insurance policy for a complex tunnel project covered all risks of direct physical loss or damage, but excluded faulty or improper design. The project required a tunnel boring machine to be specially designed and built to dig the tunnel. Despite meticulous preparation, the machine became contaminated, and added significantly to the length and cost of the project. The insurers denied coverage based on the faulty or improper design exclusion. The Court found that since the risk described in the insurance was broadly defined, and the engineers addressed that risk with diligence and state-of-the-art expertise, the faulty or improper design exclusion did not apply. Failure is not the same thing as fault or impropriety.
Majority/Dissent: 4/3
When will insurers be estopped from denying coverage on excluded claims?
Submitted by Michael Dew on Wed, 2008-05-07 18:22Liability of insurers to bear the costs of litigation when not all of the claims are within coverage
Submitted by Michael Dew on Fri, 2008-02-15 18:55SCC Decision: October 19, 2007
Submitted by Andrew Pilliar on Fri, 2007-10-19 07:22Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Co. v. Herbison, 2007 SCC 47
Click here to link to the full judgment.
(Insurance / Automobile Insurance / Causation)
H was accidentally shot by another member of his hunting party, and sued to recover under the shooter's automobile insurance policy, since the shooter had been driving immediately before shooting. Although the insurance policy applied to damages arising "directly or indirectly" from the operation of the vehicle, the Court dismissed the claim. The Court found that the shooting was a separate, interrupting act that broke any causal chain.
Majority/dissent: 9/0
