Unifund Assurance Company v. D.E., 2015 ONCA 423
Released June 11, 2015 | OntarioCourts.ca
The Court of Appeal has allowed Unifund’s appeal and overturned the lower court decision. The Court held that an insurer does not have a duty to defend and indemnify its insureds under a homeowner’s policy, with respect to claims they failed to investigate, remedy and prevent their daughter from bullying. In the original ruling, (previously summarized here) Justice Stinson held that Unifund had a duty to defend the applicants. He held that the claim against the parents was in negligence, which was distinct from the intentional claim against their daughter. The Court of Appeal looked at the original exclusion clause which included the following “We do not insure claims arising from … failure of any person insured by this policy to take steps to prevent…abuse, molestation or harassment”. Justice MacPherson held, due to the inclusion of the word failure, the exclusion clause extended to negligence and Unifund had no duty to defend or indemnify its insureds in the underlying action.