Mitch Kitagawa successfully represented The Co-Operators when the plaintiffs sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court to challenge an Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruling from February 2013. The Court of Appeal upheld a contractual one year limitation period in a commercial property policy. The Co-Operators denied the claim and when the plaintiff’s brought an action against Co-operators, it was struck out because it was commended beyond the one year mark as specified in their policy but before the two year limitation period as set out in the Limitations Act, 2002. The decision by the Supreme Court of Canada not to hear the appeal has important ramifications for insurers writing commercial insurance policies. While the Ontario Limitations Act provides 2 years from the date of the loss for actions to be commenced, this ruling allows insurers to rely on an exception in the Act which permits businesses to contract out of the statutory limitation period. Mitch Kitagawa represented The Co-Operators throughout the proceedings.