Morin v. Royal Insurance Co. of Canada, (1995) 135 Sask.R. 245 (QB)

• Judge: Klebuc, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Saskatchewan (Canada)
• Case Date: July 17, 1995
• Jurisdiction: Saskatchewan
• Citations: (1995), 135 Sask.R. 245 (QB)

Morin v. Royal Ins. (1995), 135 Sask.R. 245 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Louis Morin (plaintiff) v. The Royal Insurance Company of Canada (defendant)

(1991 Q.B. No. 540)

Indexed As: Morin v. Royal Insurance Co. of Canada

Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench

Judicial Centre of Battleford

Klebuc, J.

July 17, 1995.

Summary:

An insured sued his insurer for recovery under an all-risk insurance policy. The insurer denied recovery on the ground that the insured breached a warranty contained in the policy.

The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench allowed the insured's action.

Insurance - Topic 1606

The insurance contract - Enforcement - Requirement of notice to insured of policy terms - The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench held that an insurer had an implied obligation to disclose the contents of an insurance policy to the insured - See paragraph 24.

Insurance - Topic 1606

The insurance contract - Enforcement - Requirement of notice to insured of policy terms - An insurer insisted that all-risk coverage be subject to a warranty - The insured was not advised of the warranty, or given a copy of the policy - Sections 126 and 129 of the Saskatchewan Insurance Act, under the heading "Fire Insurance", provided for written notice to an insured of a policy's terms - The Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench held that while these sections applied, since there was no written application, s. 126 did not obligate the insurer to disclose the warranty - How­ever, since the insurer breached the implied obligation to disclose, it could not rely on the warranty to avoid its contrac­tual obligations where the insured did not know of the provisions - See paragraphs 12 to 33.

Insurance - Topic 3308

Payment of insurance proceeds - Actions - Defences - Breach of clause or warranty - [See second Insurance - Topic 1606 ].

Cases Noticed:

LaFleche Verte Ltee. v. Dominion Insur­ance Corp., [1987] N.B.J. No. 1133 (Q.B.), consd. [para. 11].

Poast and Poast v. Royal Insurance Co. of Canada, [1983] I.L.R. 6617; 24 Man.R.(2d) 293 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 11].

Gregg v. Pearl Assurance Co., [1978] I.L.R. 1177 (Sask. Q.B.), appld. [para. 13].

Dressew Supply Ltd. v. Laurentian Pacific Insurance Co., [1991] I.L.R. 1481 (B.C.C.A.), not appld. [para. 13].

Slijepcevic v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. (1979), 22 O.R.(2d) 595 (H.C.), affd. (1979), 26 O.R. 566 (C.A.), appld. [para. 17].

Demeyere, (George A.) Tobacco Farms Ltd. v. Continental Insurance Co. (1984), 46 O.R.(2d) 423 (H.C.), affd. (1986), 53 O.R.(2d) 800 (C.A.), appld. [para. 17].

Landru et al. v. Inter City Contractors Ltd. et al. (1987), 59 Sask.R. 10 (Q.B.), consd. [para. 25].

R. v. Canadian Pacific Railway Co. (1912), 5 D.L.R. 176 (Alta. C.A.), consd. [para. 29].

Statutes Noticed:

Saskatchewan Insurance Act, R.S.S. 1978, c. S-26, sect. 123(1) [para. 12]; sect. 123(1)(c) [para. 13]; sect. 123(2) [para. 12]; sect. 126, sect. 129(c) [para. 11].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Black's Law Dictionary (4th Ed. 1968), generally [para. 14].

Black's Law Dictionary (6th Ed. 1990), generally [para. 20].

Anderson, R.A., Couch on Insurance (2nd Ed. 1959), p. 308 [para. 21].

Clarke, Malcolm A., Law of Insurance Contracts (1989), p. 180 [para. 22].

Ivamy, E.R. Hardy, General Principles of Insurance Law (5th Ed. 1986), p. 101 [para. 22].

Counsel:

D.A. Lamontagne, for the plaintiff;

D.E. Thera, for the defendant.

This case was heard before Klebuc, J., of the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench, Judicial Centre of Battleford, who delivered the following decision on July 17, 1995.