Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co., 2002 BCCA 254
Judge | Finch, C.J.B.C., Ryan and Low, JJ.A. |
Court | Court of Appeal (British Columbia) |
Case Date | January 11, 2002 |
Jurisdiction | British Columbia |
Citations | 2002 BCCA 254;(2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268 (CA) |
Wright v. Cdn. Group (2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268 (CA);
274 W.A.C. 268
MLB headnote and full text
Temp. Cite: [2002] B.C.A.C. TBEd. AP.052
Rebecca Wright (respondent/plaintiff) v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co. (appellant/defendant)
(CA027493; 2002 BCCA 254)
Indexed As: Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co.
British Columbia Court of Appeal
Finch, C.J.B.C., Ryan and Low, JJ.A.
April 18, 2002.
Summary:
Holt and Dubois boarded horses on their property. The plaintiff rented a room in their house. The plaintiff was injured in a horseback riding accident on the property. She obtained default judgment against Holt and Dubois for negligence. Holt and Dubois had a homeowner's comprehensive insurance policy that contained an exclusionary clause permitting the insurer to deny liability if the plaintiff was "residing in" the insurance household at the time that she was injured in the accident. At issue on a rule 18A summary application was whether Holt and Dubois's insurer was liable to the plaintiff under the policy.
The British Columbia Supreme Court, in a decision reported at [2000] B.C.T.C. 482, held that while the plaintiff was living in the Holt-Dubois household at the time of her injury, she was not "residing there". Thus, she was not caught by the exclusionary clause. The insurer appealed.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Insurance - Topic 6823
Liability insurance - Homeowner's comprehensive policy - Exclusions - Residing in same household - A tenant obtained judgment for damages against the insured property owners - Their homeowner's comprehensive policy included third party liability - Excluded were claims from "...bodily injury...to any person residing in your household other than a residence employee..." - The tenant was a stranger with no family connection to either owner - She paid rent and lived in a portion of the house full-time for six weeks before her accident - She did not become part of a living unit with the owners in a family or collective relationship - The British Columbia Court of Appeal affirmed that the tenant was not "residing in" the household, and the exclusion was inapplicable - She was neither "in" nor "of" the household - See paragraphs 23 to 43.
Cases Noticed:
Gecho v. BCAA Insurance Corp. et al. (1997), 92 B.C.A.C. 120; 150 W.A.C. 120; 35 B.C.L.R.(3d) 82 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 10].
Appel et al. v. Dominion of Canada General Insurance Co. (1997), 95 B.C.A.C. 122; 154 W.A.C. 122; 39 B.C.L.R.(3d) 113 (C.A.), consd. [para. 10].
Reid Crowther & Partners Ltd. v. Simcoe & Erie General Insurance Co., [1993] 1 S.C.R. 252; 147 N.R. 44; 83 Man.R.(2d) 81; 36 W.A.C. 81, refd to. [para. 14].
Fulford v. Townshend, [1970] 3 O.R. 493 (Co. Ct.), refd to. [para. 23].
Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. v. Bell, [1957] S.C.R. 581; 8 D.L.R.(2d) 577, affing. (1956), 5 D.L.R.(2d) 759 (C.A.), affing. [1956] O.W.N. 733 (H.C.), consd. [para. 30].
Authors and Works Noticed:
Words and Phrases (Perm. Ed.), vol. 19, p. 701 [para. 33].
Counsel:
A.R. Borzoni, for the appellant;
J.R. Jordan, for the respondent.
This appeal was heard before Finch, C.J.B.C., Ryan and Low, JJ.A., of the British Columbia Court of Appeal, at Victoria, British Columbia, on January 11, 2002. The decision of the court was delivered by Low, J.A., on April 18, 2002, at Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Court Of Appeal Summaries (December 9 December 13, 2019)
...Coverage, Exclusions, Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. v. Hewson, 2003 SKQB 116, Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co., 2002 BCCA 254, Allstate Insurance Co. of Canada v. Aftab, 2015 ONCA 349 Trezzi v. Trezzi , 2019 ONCA 978 Keywords: Wills and Estates, Wills, Interpretation, Beq......
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Ryan v. Canadian Farm Insurance Corp. et al., 2013 MBQB 271
...(2002), 166 Man.R.(2d) 39; 278 W.A.C. 39; 2002 MBCA 70, refd to. [para. 55]. Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co. (2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268; 274 W.A.C. 268; 2002 BCCA 254, consd. [para. Progressive Homes Ltd. v. Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada, [2010] 2 S.C.R. 245; 406......
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R.E. et al. v. Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. et al., [2006] O.T.C. 251 (SC)
...Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. v. Bell, [1957] S.C.R. 581, refd to. [para. 30]. Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co. (2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268; 274 W.A.C. 268 (C.A.), refd to. [para. Gray v. Insurance Corp. of British Columbia, [1987] B.C.J. No. 2355 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 34]......
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Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada v. Araujo et al., [2012] B.C.T.C. Uned. 1203
...Shield Insurance Co. (1986), 5 BCLR (2d) 62 (SC) (son temporarily house-sitting for parents); Wright v Canadian Group Underwriters , 2002 BCCA 254 (individual renting a portion of insured's house). [28] The word "household" has been described as having a flexible meaning. In ......
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Ryan v. Canadian Farm Insurance Corp. et al., 2013 MBQB 271
...(2002), 166 Man.R.(2d) 39; 278 W.A.C. 39; 2002 MBCA 70, refd to. [para. 55]. Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co. (2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268; 274 W.A.C. 268; 2002 BCCA 254, consd. [para. Progressive Homes Ltd. v. Lombard General Insurance Co. of Canada, [2010] 2 S.C.R. 245; 406......
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R.E. et al. v. Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. et al., [2006] O.T.C. 251 (SC)
...Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co. v. Bell, [1957] S.C.R. 581, refd to. [para. 30]. Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co. (2002), 167 B.C.A.C. 268; 274 W.A.C. 268 (C.A.), refd to. [para. Gray v. Insurance Corp. of British Columbia, [1987] B.C.J. No. 2355 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 34]......
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Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Co. of Canada v. Araujo et al., [2012] B.C.T.C. Uned. 1203
...Shield Insurance Co. (1986), 5 BCLR (2d) 62 (SC) (son temporarily house-sitting for parents); Wright v Canadian Group Underwriters , 2002 BCCA 254 (individual renting a portion of insured's house). [28] The word "household" has been described as having a flexible meaning. In ......
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Burch et al. v. Intact Insurance Co., (2014) 589 A.R. 303 (QB)
...Forming Inc , 2007 CanLII 56478, [2007] O.J. No. 4975, at para 37 (ON SC); see also Wright v. Canadian Group Underwriters Insurance Co , 2002 BCCA 254, 1 BCLR (4th) 30 where the insurer sought to rely on an exclusion clause which prohibited claims by persons residing in the same household a......
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Court Of Appeal Summaries (December 9 December 13, 2019)
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