9 Dec 2015
JCS COST MANAGEMENT LTD v QBE INSURANCE (INTERNATIONAL) LTD [2015] NZCA 524 _x000b_
- Citation
- [2015] NZCA 524
- Court
- Court of Appeal
The majority held on summary judgment that defence costs are payable only where the claimant's notional successful claim would have been indemnified under the policy; the causative word "by" requires a causal nexus between the insured's Professional Business Practice and the notional liability, and here any notional liability would have been for pre‑purchase building appraisal advice outside the policy's definition of Professional Business Practice, so the Council's claim could never have been a Valid Claim and QBE was not liable for defence costs (appeal dismissed).