INSURANCE ISSUES
An Ontario Court sets out the factors for determining who the
"lessee" of a rented/ leased vehicle is for the purposes
of determining the priority of insurers providing coverage.
Aviva v
Wawanesa, 2018
ONSC 5778, per Nakatsuru, J.
FACTS AND ISSUES:
On October 29, 2010, the Plaintiff Liu was rear-ended by a
vehicle driven by the Defendant Mahamood, which was rented from New
Horizons Car Truck Rentals. Mahamood was in the process of
delivering furniture for his employer, Fine Furnishings. Liu sued
Mahamood, Fine Furnishings and New Horizons Car Truck Rentals for
vehicular negligence for $3,000,000.
Mahamood did not have any insurance of his own, and Fine
Furnishings was insured by Wawanesa. New Horizons Car Truck Rentals
was insured by Aviva. The issue was as to which insurer (as between
Aviva and Wawanesa) was the first loss insurer under the
Ontario Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. I.H, section
277(1.1). In other words, the question was as to
