Insurers bring case against Bathurst diocese to Supreme Court

AvivaInsurance Company is bringing its fightagainst the Catholic diocese of Bathurstto the country's highest court.

In October, New Brunswick's Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Catholic Church, ordering the insurers to pay it $3.4 million to go toward compensation for victims of pedophile priests.

The ruling was the result of a years-long battle between both parties over whoseresponsibilityit was to compensate people who suffered sexual abuseas children.

• Court orders insurer to pay Diocese of Bathurst nearly $3.4M to cover abuse payouts
• Victims abused by priests in N.B. waiting years for compensation

The church had been arguingthe insurance policy at the time of the abuse included coverage for "bodily injury caused intentionally by the archdiocese."

But the insurers claimed the church failed in its obligation to disclose information about the abuse, and the coverage was therefore void.

"The church sought insurance coverage for crimes committed by their priests, which evidence shows they attempted to cover up. That is wrong," a spokesperson forAviva told CBC in an emailed statement.

After a split 2016decision by the Court of Queen's Benchthat both parties contested, the court of appeal ruled in favour of the church, whenAvivaabandoned its part of the appeal.

But the company has now decided to forge ahead in the battle, filing an application Friday for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, according to the court's website.

The court can now decide to hear the case or not.

The Bathurst case relates toallegations of sexual abuse against various priests between the late 1950s and early 1980s many of them involvingpriest Levi Noel, who was convicted of 22 sex-related offences in 2010 and freed from prison a year before his death in 2016.

Victims waiting

Victims in theBathurst case have already been paid, and it is now a matter of whether the insurance company will reimburse the church.

But the decision will affect a similar case involving the archdiocese of Moncton,where the church is seeking $4.2 million against its insurer,Co-operators General Insurance.

The Moncton victims have not been paid.

CBCNews recently learnedas many as 29 sexual abuse victims had reached tentative settlements with the archdioceseyears ago, and the church had only given$1,000 advances to date, saying full payment would come once theinsurance battle cameto an end.