Recent Decisions

The plaintiff, a 32-year-old woman, slipped and fell on the defendant’s icy driveway in Peterborough in December 2017. She suffered a severe fracture to her ankle which required surgery and rehabilitation. She returned to her sedentary pre-accident job but required assistance with some household tasks. The defendant denied liability. Madam Justice Lack found in favour of the plaintiff on all issues, and awarded $150,000 for damages for pain and suffering, $59,350 for loss of housekeeping ability and $40,000 for loss of competitive advantage. In total the plaintiff obtained judgment for $292,393 plus costs of $86,015. The defendant’s appeal was unanimously dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in April 2022.

The plaintiffs insured six items of jewelry for $502,000 with the defendant. The policy covered loss due to theft anywhere in the world. While on a trip to Vietnam to attend a wedding, the plaintiffs were robbed of all of their jewelry. The defendant denied their claim disputing the theft and even their ownership of the jewelry. After a trial that took place over 13 days, Mr. Justice Daley awarded the plaintiffs $502,000 for their stolen jewelry and $45,000 for punitive damages because of the defendant’s conduct in denying the claim. The court also awarded the plaintiffs over $150,000 in costs.

The plaintiff was 70 years old when he was involved in a car accident in Peterborough. At that time the plaintiff was working as a cab driver. As a result of the accident the plaintiff injured his left shoulder which required surgery. The surgery was successful, but he also suffered chronic low back pain which prevented him from returning to his occupation as a cab driver. After a 12-day trial, the jury returned with a verdict awarding the plaintiff $175,000 for pain and suffering and $128,569 for loss of income. The trial judge found that the plaintiff had sustained a permanent serious impairment of an important physical function (the “threshold”) and costs of $284,800.