How D&O claims could arise from COVID-19
March 17, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf your clients are accused of failing to warn shareholders of the impact of COVID-19, their directors and officers could have liability exposure, experts from Marsh suggest. Generally speaking, directors and officers tend to have the same liability exposure as…
How liability insurance responds (or not) to COVID-19
March 16, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf your clients are sued as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, don’t assume they will be covered by a commercial general liability policy. General liability policies have exclusions; and for COVID-19, the most relevant exclusion is probably pollution, suggested…
How commercial lease terms affect gas bars’ pollution liability
March 12, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf a retail gas station has to remove underground tanks and contaminated soil, is the landlord or tenant responsible for the costs? Much of it depends on the terms of the lease and case law around commercial tenants’ trade fixtures,…
Why this ski resort’s waiver argument doesn’t cut it with appeal court
March 10, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA British Columbia judge should not have used a North Vancouver ski resort’s warning notices to throw a personal injury lawsuit out of court, the province’s appeal court found in a ruling released March 4. In Apps v. Grouse Mountain…
How not to handle a lawsuit alleging historical environmental contamination
March 9, 2020 by Greg MeckbachBrokers wanting to advise commercial clients on pollution liability risk might learn a lesson or two from London Transit Commission v. Eaton Industries (Canada) Company, released this past Friday by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. London, Ontario’s city bus…
Why this religious organization wants to appeal sexual abuse lawsuit
March 5, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA corporate defendant found vicariously liable in a multi-million-dollar sexual abuse lawsuit wants to go to the Supreme Court of Canada and seek a new jury trial, a lawyer in MacLeod v. Marshall told Canadian Underwriter Wednesday. In 2018, a…
Supreme Court Orphan Well ruling: the impact on brokers one year later
March 4, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf you place pollution liability coverage, you could be hearing from banks and lenders concerned about oil and gas producers potentially going bankrupt. Inquiries about environment impairment liability are on the rise for at least one major Canadian brokerage following…
Does home insurance cover road rage?
March 2, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf a client is sued for alleged road rage in Ontario, is coverage for the legal defence the responsibility of the home insurer, auto insurer or both? This question could go to the Supreme Court of Canada if it agrees…
New Supreme Court of Canada guidance on liability for Canadian clients operating overseas
February 28, 2020 by Greg MeckbachIf you place commercial liability insurance for clients with supply chains outside of Canada, be sure and check out Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling in Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya. In its divided ruling, Canada’s top court ruled that…
Coverage dispute from 1999 spoiled food recall finally ends
February 24, 2020 by Greg MeckbachTwenty years after a loss resulting from food getting infested with insects, a commercial client has lost its coverage dispute with St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. The Supreme Court of Canada announced Thursday it had denied leave to…
The ‘social inflation’ affecting Fairfax Financial’s run-off business
February 21, 2020 by Greg MeckbachAsbestos-related commercial liability claims could soon reach a peak, but they continue to be a concern for the property and casualty insurance industry, suggests Prem Watsa, founder and chairman of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. “Asbestos has been a problem…
End of road for vehicle occupant sued for negligent parenting
February 18, 2020 by Greg MeckbachA defendant in a negligent parenting lawsuit cannot make a liability claim under the auto policy of the vehicle in which he and his daughter were riding as passengers. The Supreme Court of Canada announced Feb. 13 it will not…