In recent years, more and more people have begun living together without marrying.  In Ontario, property entitlements automatically arise when two people marry.  Without a domestic contract (cohabitation agreement or marriage contract), this necessitates the valuation and division of assets on separation or the death of a spouse.  Common law…

According to the United States Census Bureau, Canada is the USA’s second largest trading partner, only slightly behind China, with over $500 billion in two-way trade goods annually. The industrial economies of Canada and the USA are highly integrated, with manufacturing plants in each country sending millions of components back…

Insurance defence lawyers Shawn O’Connor, Samantha Iturregui and Crystal Schulz discuss key court rulings from 2016 that will impact insurers in 2017 and beyond.  Cases analyzed are: Daggitt v Campbell, 2016 ONSC 2742 Watts v. Bowman, 2016 ONSC 3994 Gardiner v. MacDonald, 2016 ONCA 968 State Farm v. Aslan, 2016…

Routh Chovaz Insurance Brokers Inc. v Aviva Insurance Co of Canada, 2016 ONSC 2567 This was a motion by Aviva Insurance Co of Canada (“Aviva”) for a summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiff’s action as Aviva argued the Plaintiff did not have a cause of action. Dow J granted the motion…

C.H. Robinson Worlwide Inc. v Northbridge Commercial Insurance, 2016 ONCA 364 After having its application for insurance coverage from Northbridge Commercial Insurance Corporation (“Northbridge”) dismissed by the Superior Court, C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (“Robinson”) appealed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. The appeal stems from an incident involving damaged cargo….

Alguire v. Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. 2016 ONSC 1455 The plaintiff sued the defendant over a life insurance policy. The plaintiff brought a motion after the first week of trial for leave to make various amendments to the statement of claim.  The defendant contested amendments which pertained to allegations of…

Vlanich v. Typhair 2016 ONCA 517 The Plaintiffs were injured in a motor vehicle accident involving a taxi which was not insured in accordance with the municipal by-laws.  The by-laws required that taxis have a minimum of $1 million in insurance.  The Plaintiffs sued the taxi driver, their insurer State…

Skunk v Ketash et al 2016 ONSC 2019 This was a motion for a summary judgment by the Defendant Jevco, to dismiss a claim by the Plaintiff, it insured. The claim arose when Jevco denied coverage to the insured, after the Plaintiff was involved in a single-vehicle accident.  The Plaintiff, Mr….