(CANADA)
Saltwire Network [Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada]
April 16, 2026
By Tara Bradbury
NL Appeal Court orders insurance to pay back premiums, lawyers for abuse survivors reviewing decision to determine next steps
A trial judge was right to void an insurance policy over the St. John’s Roman Catholic archdiocese’s failure to disclose sexual abuse allegations in the 1980s, but wrong to allow the insurance company to keep the premiums, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Court of Appeal has ruled.
In a decision released publicly on Wednesday, April 16, 2026, the court upheld a finding that the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s breached its duty of good faith by not telling Guardian Insurance Company of Canada it was aware of the allegations against its clergy when it obtained a policy in 1980 and renewed it yearly for at least four years.
However, the court found there was no proof the archdiocese had intended to commit fraud, and ordered the insurance company to refund the premiums if it voids the policy.
‘ONE OF THE SADDEST CHAPTERS OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR’S RECENT HISTORY’
“This appeal arises from one of the saddest chapters of Newfoundland and Labrador’s recent history; one that is well known now but was not at the time the abuse occurred,” Justice William Goodridge of the appellate court wrote in a decision released April 16, and concurred by Justice Katherine O’Brien and Justice Frances Knickle.
The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s (RCEC) sought to overturn a December 2024 decision by Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court Justice Peter Browne, who ruled against its effort to have Guardian Insurance cover some of the cost of its settlement with clergy abuse survivors.
The claimant survivors were granted intervenor status and made submissions in support of the appeal.
The RCEC has been in bankruptcy protection for more than four years as it sells off properties and other assets to raise the roughly $121 million needed to settle the claims related to sexual abuse by Christian Brothers at Mount Cashel Orphanage and others in the diocese, for which it has been found vicariously liable.
So far, it has reportedly raised less than half that amount.
ARCHDIOCESE DIDN’T CONSIDER THE INFORMATION IMPORTANT FOR INSURANCE POLICY
The RCEC acknowledged it had received information about its priests sexually abusing youth and did not disclose it to child-protection authorities, nor to Guardian.
It argued it had not considered the information important for insurance reasons.
Evidence from insurance underwriters who testified at trial indicated insurers at the time didn’t consider sexual abuse material information from religious institutions, and generally considered them low hazard.
Brokers didn’t ask churches in the early 1980s about allegations of sexual abuse, the court heard, but this changed in response to an increased understanding of abuse and discussions within the industry about how to address it.
Browne determined the archdiocese had a duty to disclose the information and Guardian would not likely have issued a policy had it been aware of the abuse.
He also found the RCEC “intentionally and recklessly withheld knowledge of past and ongoing sexual abuse by its clergy,” and said Guardian was entitled to void the policy without returning the archdiocese’s premiums on account of fraudulent misrepresentation.
CLAIMANTS REPRESENTED AT APPEAL
On appeal, the RCEC — joined by lawyers for the abuse survivors, who were granted intervenor status — submitted Browne had made mistakes in his assessment of the abuse allegations as material information at the time.
“Materiality is a matter of fact to be decided by a trial judge based on the evidence presented,” Goodridge wrote in the appeal decision.
The court agreed the allegations would have influenced a reasonable insurer’s decision to provide coverage and should have been disclosed.
As a result, it upheld Guardian’s right to void the policy and deny the RCEC coverage for claims between 1980 and 1985.
ARCHDIOCESE DID NOT COMMIT FRAUD
It did overturn Browne’s finding that the archdiocese defrauded Guardian, however. The fact that church officials intentionally concealed the abuse is not enough to prove they intended to defraud the insurance company, the appellate judges agreed, and there wasn’t evidence to suggest the RCEC knew Guardian would have considered the abuse allegations material information.
The court didn’t send the matter back for a new trial.
“The events giving rise to the present appeal occurred over 40 years ago,” Goodridge wrote. “There may not be sufficient funds to pay their claims in full, and a retrial will cause additional delay and expense.”
St. John’s lawyer Geoff Budden, who represented more than 200 claimants on the appeal, told The Telegram he and other counsel for the survivors will decide whether to pursue the matter.
“These are exceptionally complex legal issues which arise against the background of a horrific social catastrophe,” he said.
“We are in the process of carefully reviewing (the) Court of Appeal decision and considering its implications.
“We may have more to say once we have done so.”