On March 15, 2021, the Ontario Court of Appeal released its
decision in Family and Children's Services of Lanark,
Leeds and Grenville v. Co-operators General Insurance
Company. This proceeding arose out of three separate
applications dealing with the duty to defend, which were heard
together.
Family and Children's Services of Lanark, Leeds and
Grenville (FCS) claimed that it was hacked in April 2016, and
confidential reports were allegedly leaked onto two Facebook pages.
Prior to this incident, FCS had hired Laridae Communications
(Laridae) to refresh and review the FCS website. FCS and Laridae
were both insured by Co-operators General Insurance Company
(Co-operators). Following these alleged unintended disclosure
incidents, a class proceeding was commenced against FCS seeking
damages of $75 million. FCS also brought a third-party claim
against Laridae.