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32049

MWH International, Inc. v. Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company

(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2007-11-02 Close file on Leave
2007-10-26 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2007-10-26 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2007-10-25 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA033865, 2007 BCCA 164, dated March 20, 2007, is dismissed with costs.
Dismissed, with costs
2007-07-30 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Cha Ro
2007-06-25 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Completed on: 2007-06-25 MWH International, Inc.
2007-06-15 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2007-06-15 Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company
2007-05-25 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2007-05-18 Application for leave to appeal, C/A order missing - rec'd May 25, 2007, Completed on: 2007-05-25 MWH International, Inc.

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
MWH International, Inc. Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: MWH International, Inc.

Counsel
Name
John R. Singleton, Q.C.
Contact information
Singleton Urquhart
1200 - 925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3L2
Telephone: (604) 682-7474
FAX: (604) 682-1283
Email: jrs@singleton.com
Agent
Name
Jeffrey W. Beedell
Contact information
Lang Michener LLP
300 - 50 O'Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 6L2
Telephone: (613) 232-7171
FAX: (613) 231-3191
Email: jbeedell@langmichener.ca

Party: Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company

Counsel
Names
Gordon C. Weatherill
Jude P. Samson
Contact information
Lawson Lundell LLP
Suite 1600, Cathedral Place
925 Georgia Street West
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6C 3L2
Telephone: (604) 631-9192
FAX: (604) 641-2812
Email: gweatherill@lawsonlundell.com
Agent
Name
Pierre Landry
Contact information
Noël et Associés, s.e.n.c.r.l.
111, rue Champlain
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 3R1
Telephone: (819) 503-2178
FAX: (819) 771-5397
Email: p.landry@noelassocies.com

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Insurance - Liability insurance - Contracts - Interpretation - Whether an endorsement to a professional liability insurance policy had the effect of triggering the insurer's obligation to defend an insured upon the giving of notice of an event from which the insured expected a claim would be made. - In the absence of pleadings what are the applicable legal principles to determine when an insurer's duty to defend is triggered - What is the scope of the duty to defend.

In April 2004, a failure in the concrete floor of the approach channel to the Keenleyside Powerplant Project at Castlegar, B.C. caused the power plant to shut down and it has not returned to normal generating operations. In June 2004, the Applicant, who is the successor company of the subcontractor who designed the approach channel, gave notice of the failure to the Respondent, its insurer under a policy of professional liability insurance. The Respondent declined to extend coverage on the basis of notice of a potential claim, and argued that its duty to defend was not triggered until a claim was actually made against the Applicant that was covered by the policy. The parties differed in their interpretations of an endorsement to the policy. The Applicant brought an application for summary judgment against the Respondent.

Lower court rulings

February 9, 2006
Supreme Court of British Columbia

S046413, 2006 BCSC 219

see file

March 20, 2007
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

CA033865, 2007 BCCA 164

see file

Filed documents

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

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Date modified: 2025-02-27