Legal Blog:
Obligations to Insure & Risk
Capital Sewer Servicing Inc. v. Crosslinx Transit Solutions Constructors 2022 Ont CA
Just because a contract stipulates that a party must obtain insurance does not necessarily mean that the party who has to insure bears the risk of loss. That depends on the interpretation of the contract as a whole. In this case, in which a sub caused a loss to third party neighbours who sued the general contractor and the sub, the owner had to obtain a primary wrap-up liability policy, naming as insureds all contractors and subcontractors. However, since the contract called for the sub to indemnify the general contractor against all of its acts that caused loss to the general contractor, the court held that the sub had to indemnify the general contractor for defence costs, indemnity payments made, and insurance deductibles, regardless who had to obtain insurance.
Continue Reading >Municipality Liability
Breen v. Lake of Bays (TWP) 2022 Ont CA
Case discusses the legal framework governing construction permits and inspections under the Building Code Act. Under the Act, municipalities owe a duty of care to all who it is reasonable to conclude may be injured by the negligent exercise of its inspection powers. This includes subsequent purchasers of a building constructed for another owner. Once a municipality enacts a bylaw dealing with building permits, the municipality makes a policy decision to enforce the Act and its duties arise. A municipality is liable if the inspector derogates from the standards of an ordinary reasonably prudent inspector. The reasonably prudent inspector is not expected to uncover every latent defect.
Continue Reading >Reticence
Claimants who have been wronged, by breach of contract, tort, or otherwise, do not want to start a legal action. For good reason! It is costly both in legal fees and the claimant’s time; it is emotionally draining; and it can be unsuccessful. Accordingly, most claimants try to obtain some recompense for their claim without recourse to the courts or arbitration. They wait and wait for that recompense, but, sometimes, it never materialises and the only remaining option is to proceed with a legal action. Unfortunately, some claimants may delay that decision too long and find that their right to commence a proceeding has been lost because of the Limitations Act. You cannot dither forever.
Limitations issues were involved in two 2021 Divisional Court decisions: 1352194 Ontario Inc. v. Vince and 1159337 Ontario Ltd. v. Saplys.
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