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Punitive damages ordered for withholding undisputed insurance benefit.
On May 3, 2022, the BC Supreme Court ordered that a homeowner’s insurer pay PUNITIVE DAMAGES for withholding payment of the undisputed parts of a fire loss claim. In Green Estate v. Sonnet Insurance Co., 2022 BCSC 709, an executor brought an application against the estate’s insurance company for breach of statutory condition 12 and breach of the implied duty of good faith in failing to indemnify the estate for losses arising out of a house fire. Statutory condition 12 requires the insurer to pay or reject a claim 60 days after...
read moreNot all bad faith attracts punitive damages.
On November 3, 2020, the BC Court of Appeal held that not all bad faith conduct will result in an award of punitive damages. In Gascoigne v. Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Co. (c.o.b. Desjardins Insurance), [2020] B.C.J. No. 1821, 2020 BCCA 316, the insured, an ICBC bodily injury adjuster, sued her disability insurer under her group benefits policy when her claim for long term disability benefits was denied. She developed inflammation of the tendons of her left elbow, requiring surgery, and subsequently developed depression. At...
read moreManulife found GUILTY of breaching privacy.
On January 31, 2020, the Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner found Manulife guilty of breaching of disclosing a worker’s personal information to her employer’s agent without her consent. https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/aboipc/doc/2020/2020canlii9595/2020canlii9595.html?resultIndex=1
read moreLTD Plan Administrator punished directly for bad faith claims handling.
On October 15, 2019, the BC Supreme Court ordered that an administrator of a long-term disability plan pay damages for mental distress, and punitive damages for its bad faith handling of a disability claim covered by a collective agreement. In Greig v. Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Co., 2019 BCSC 1758, Dennis Greig, who had suffered injuries in a motor vehicle accident, was re-injured on the job and was unable to return to work. He successfully applied for LTD benefits but his benefits were later suspended for 17 months before...
read moreInsurer must disclose internal documents in bad faith claim.
On April 29, 2019 the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ordered an insurance company to produce its policies, procedures, guidelines and internal documents concerning how an accident benefits claim was handled in a bad faith action. In Malloy v. Intact Insurance Co., [2019] N.S.J. No. 170, 2019 NSSC 131, Shauna Malloy was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Ms. Malloy’s insurance company, Intact, accepted the claim for accident benefits, but denied reimbursement for a medical procedure. Ms. Malloy sued alleging bad faith and sought an order...
read moreManulife violates human rights, employer pays the price.
On March 19, 2019, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario found that Manulife’s handling of a disability claim was “significantly flawed” (para. 36), amounting to a breach of Marianne Knight’s human rights. The Tribunal found that the employer, Surrey Place Centre, “delegated” it’s responsibilities to Manulife. Since Manulife was acting as the legal agent of the employer, it was the employer who was made to pay for Manulife’s conduct. In Knight v. Surrey Place Centre, 2019 HRTO...
read moreCourt of Appeal approves settlement of less than 10% value.
On November 29 2018, BC Court of Appeal approved the settlement of a claim which was potentially worth more than $400,000.00, for the all inclusive sum of 35,000.00. In Deo v. Vancouver, 2018 BCCA 464, a child suffered serious injuries at school, leaving him partially blind. He sued for damages and was largely unsuccessful on proving liability at trial. The child’s lawyer valued the claim at over $400,000, but before the liability appeals could be heard a settlement of $35,000 was reached. The child, being a minor, could not...
read moreSun Life ordered to pay $600,000 death benefit on “replaced” policy.
On November 22, 2018, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench ordered an insurance company to pay a $600,000 death benefit to the 2 surviving children and adult partner of a deceased man, Jeffery Moss. In Moss v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, [2018] A.J. No. 1383, 2018 ABQB 953, the deceased’s daughter, Daniella Moss, brought a summary trial application seeking a declaration as to the validity of two insurance policies. She was one of the beneficiaries of the two life insurance policies on her father’s life. The deceased...
read moreInsurer may be sued for bad faith negotiations.
On May 17, 2018, the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from an insurance company’s unsuccessful application for summary judgment to dismiss a claim brought by its insured. In 3746292 Manitoba Ltd. v. Intact Insurance Co., 2018 MBCA 59, the insured was the owner of a mixed-use property in downtown Winnipeg consisting of residential apartments and commercial space. In 2010, an accidental fire caused significant damage. A dispute arose over the cost of repairs and the amount of a co-insurance penalty. The...
read moreDrunk teenager injured in stolen car cannot sue garage.
On May 11, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a commercial car garage did not owe a duty of care to a person who was injured in a car he had stolen from the garage. In Rankin (Rankin’s Garage & Sales) v. J.J., J.J., a teenager, suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a motor vehicle collision. He sued Rankin’s Garage & Sales, among other parties, for negligence because the car that he and another teenager stole from the garage had been left unlocked with the keys in the ashtray. At trial, the jury found multiple...
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