Policy and Claims: The policy in question covers claims made between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2015. Michael Drover, a lawyer, made errors in certifying titles, leading to claims from five clients (claimants): Modern Heavy Civil Limited, Moore Holdings Limited, CBS Land Development Inc., Paul Madden, and HSBC Bank Canada.
Issues for Determination:
Number of Occurrences: The court had to decide how many "Occurrences" the claims represented under the policy. This was important because the policy's liability limit was $1 million per occurrence, with a total cap of $2 million.
Policy Period: Whether any claims fell into a different policy period.
Payment Method: Whether payments to claimants should be made on a "first-past-the-post" basis (paying claims as they are settled) or on a "pro rata" basis (distributing the available funds proportionately among all claimants).
Court’s Findings:
Each claim constituted a separate "Occurrence," meaning each claim was entitled to its own coverage limit.
All claims were found to fall within the same policy period.
The court ordered that CLIA should distribute payments to the claimants on a pro rata basis, not on a first-past-the-post basis. This decision was based on several factors, including the fact that all claimants had pursued their claims diligently and the underlying errors were related to separate instances of negligence.
Outcome: The court directed a pro rata distribution of the policy limits among all claimants and established a process for interim payments. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs. No amount specified.
