Limitation Periods: Claims Against Insurers When You Don’t Know What Hit You
When an unidentified driver causes an accident, there may be no way to secure compensation for an injury, as the driver and the driver’s insurer may never be identified. This gap in coverage is addressed through mandatory uninsured/unidentified motorist coverage under s. 265 of the Insurance Act and optional OPCF-44R family protection coverage, both of which provide coverage in these circumstances. Writing for a unanimous three judge panel of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Rooplal v Fodor, 2021 ONCA 357, Justice Thorburn clarified the current state of the law on limitation periods in the context of suing insurers for ... [more] Full article
Supreme Court Provides a Window to Uniform Interpretation of Standard Form Insurance Contracts
The Supreme Court of Canada has provided guidance to the insurance industry on the interpretation of standard form insurance contracts in the recent decision of Ledcor Construction Ltd. v. Northbridge. [more] Full article
Curtains for auditor’s arguments at the Court of Appeal in Livent case
Livent Inc. (“Livent”) has prevailed at the Court of Appeal in its auditor’s negligence claim against Deloitte & Touche (“Deloitte”) concerning Deloitte’s failure to detect an accounting fraud carried out by Livent’s senior management. In the result, the trial judge’s $84,750,000.00 damage award (plus interest) was upheld. [more] Full article
Court of Appeal at fault, 30 class actions become a total loss
Last summer, in David Polowin Real Estate Ltd. v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co., the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned its own decision on a question of law it decided just a few years ago in McNaughton Automotive Ltd. v. Co-operators General Insurance Co. In so doing, the Court wrestled with whether and when it could, or should, overrule one of its past decisions. [more] Full article
Insurance Defence Contributors
Ardita Sinojmeri
Ardita joins Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP as an Associate Lawyer after completing her articles with the firm. Her growing practice encompasses a broad range of litigation matters including securities litigation, insurance defence, employment disputes, and shareholder disputes. Ardita earned her Juris Doctor from Western University’s Faculty of Law. Prior to joining the firm, she participated in a number of initiatives aimed at helping individuals and businesses struggling through COVID-19. Ardita looks forward to putting her legal, business, and community engagement skills to use in all the firm’s practice areas.
David N. Vaillancourt
David's practice expertise focuses on all matters of Commercial and Civil Litigation, Competition and Administrative Law. David has acted for clients in a wide range of disputes, including shareholder and partnership disputes, securities litigation, class action defence, proceedings under the Competition Act, employment law disputes, contract disputes, breach of confidence/intellectual property disputes, fidelity bond claims, and professional negligence claims. David has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, including the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and has also appeared before the Competition Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal. David has appeared as lead counsel in numerous trials, hearings, and motions. David has been successful in numerous adversarial proceedings, and also has successfully negotiated the resolution of dozens of cases.
