Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Company: Exceptional Facts = Exceptional Damages
Date:
April 1 2002
On February 22, 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada released its eagerly anticipated decision in Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Company, following a see-saw battle through the court system. At trial, a jury awarded $1 million in punitive damages against the Whiten’s insurer, Pilot Insurance Company. The Ontario Court of Appeal reduced that award to $100,000. The Supreme Court of Canada settled the issue by restoring the jury award and in the process supporting what had, to that date, been an unprecedented award against an insurance company. Prior to Pilot punitive damages awards against insurers were not only rare, but nominal (usually $7,500 to $15,000).
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