Limitation period extended by insurer’s failure to provide policy or application.
On November 4, 2014, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that an application for long-term disability benefits under a policy issued to his employer, submitted two and a half years after the deadline, was not submitted out of time because the insured had not been provided with the policy or claims documents by his employer. In Nguyen v. SSQ Life Insurance Co., 2914 ONSC 6405, the insurance company made an application to dismiss Mr. Nguyen’s claim for long-term disability benefits under a group policy issued to his employer, on the basis that the claim was made out of time. Mr....
read moreJury verdict “perverse” for denying damages.
On October 1, 2014 the BC Supreme Court, New Westminster Registry, ordered a retrial following a “perverse” jury finding in Kasli v Gill, 2014 BCSC 1833. The plaintiff was injured in a motor vehicle collision. A jury found both parties equally to blame and, after factoring the liability split, awarded the plaintiff $10,000 for past wage loss and special damages. The Jury awarded nothing for non-pecuniary loss. Mr. Justice Weatherill ordered a new trial and in doing so provided the following reasons: [23] While the court should strive to give effect to a jury’s verdict,...
read moreDelaying payment of LTD benefits may be bad faith.
On September 17, 2014, the British Columbia Supreme Court refused to summarily dismiss an insured’s claim against the insurer and adjuster for breach of contract and the duty of fairness and good faith; however, the insured’s claims against the adjuster for inducement of breach of contract and interference with contractual relations were dismissed. In Frank v. Kalokina, 2014 BCSC 1866, the insured’s application for long-term disability benefits was denied by the adjuster for five months after the time of her claim. The insured alleges that in denying her claim, the adjuster and the insurer...
read morePunitive damages for denied LTD benefits upheld on appeal.
On March 22, 2013, an Ontario judge ordered an insurer to pay $100,000 in aggravated damages and $200,000 in punitive damages after finding that the insurer had wrongfully denied its insured long-term disability benefits. In Fernandes v. Penncorp, 2013 ONSC 1637, the Honourable Justice Peter Hambly ordered Penncord Life Insurance Company to pay the damages to an injured employee. Facts The facts of the case are rather straightforward. The plaintiff was a bricklayer who had his own company. That company was profitable and had employees. When the plaintiff got injured and was unable to work...
read moreMediation discussions not always confidential.
On May 8, 2014 the Supreme Court of Canada carved out an important exception to the promise to keep mediation discussions confidential. Companies and their insurers rely on private mediators to settle lawsuits partly because what is discussed at mediation stays confidential. This ensures that business strategy stays under wraps and public scandal for mistakes is avoided. In 2011, Bombardier and Union Carbide tried to settle a decade-long $32,000,000 court battle through mediation. In 1997, 1998 and 2003, Bombardier bought gas tanks from Union Carbide to use in Sea-Doo personal watercraft. In...
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