The Quebec Court of Appeal ordered five insurance companies to pay approximately $4.1 million to a bailiff’s firm after it refused to cover its losses and legal fees in a case that clarifies when professional indemnity claims can be triggered and reiterates yet again the principle that lawyers should not have two masters.
In a dense and complex 30-page ruling dealing with an insurance claim arising out a “very complicated and very unusual underlying facts,” the Quebec Court of Appeal maintained its trend of broadly interpreting claims and professional liability insurance policies in favour of claimants, according to insurance lawyer experts.
“In the most general way, this ruling is part of a trend that gives rights to the insured,” observed Valérie Lemaire, an insurance lawyer with Langlois Kronström Desjardins LLP in Montreal. “Is it to the detriment of insurers? I don’t think so. Insurers are being asked to analyze its policies in the most liberal fashion possible. It invites insures to be very transparent with its insured.”