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Alf Kwinter will be teaching at the Trial Practice Course at Osgoode Hall Law School
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Every Tuesday this fall
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Alf Kwinter will co-chair the Advocates’ Society's education program
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Date: April 17, 2009
Topic: Advanced Litigation Skills Certificate Program:
The Judges Respond
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Alf Kwinter will be co-chairing 2009 Court House Series.
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Date: February 2009
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Alf Kwinter to be part of a four-person panel comprised of plaintiffs'.
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Date: November 13, 2008
Topic: Negotiation
ARC Group
For more information
Click Here
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Alf Kwinter discuss' Insurance Litigation and Jury Trials.
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Date: October 28, 2008
Topic: Insurance Law: "What you need to Know"
Ontario Bar Association
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Alf Kwinter discuss' punitive and aggravated damages in bad faith claims.
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Date: October 27 - 28, 2008
Topic: Litigating Disability Insurance Claims
The Canadian Institute
For more information
Click Here
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Alf Kwinter will mentor at a young lawyers’ conference
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Date: October 17 - 18, 2008
Topic: Litigatiion by the Lake - Fall Forum 2008
Where: Queens Landing, Niagara-on the Lake
Mentor at young lawyers’ conference
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Alf Kwinter will discuss: The Rule in Browne v. Dunn today.
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Date: October 16, 2008
Topic: The 5th Annual Osgood Professional Development Conference on Evidence Law for The Civil Litigator
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Alf Kwinter will present at the Division of Physiatry Fall Retreat
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Date: October 3, 2008
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"Spoliation" article by
Shane Katz.
For more information
Click Here |
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Punitive and Aggravated Damage Awards in Disability Claims
by Alf Kwinter.
For more information
Click Here |
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Insurance is truly a unique product. What else do we buy and willingly pay for hoping we will never have to use it? This is particularly the case with home insurance. We gladly pay the annual premiums knowing that in the case of a loss we are protected. We look at ads on television and in magazines showing our insurance companies with their promises of full protection in the event of a loss. We believe that all the insurance companies are concerned about looking after their policy holders.
All too often, however, that is not the case. A person can pay premiums for years only to find once he or she has a loss that the insurance company is no longer their friend. A company may decide to deny a claim for various reasons including misrepresentation on the original application, that a fire was arson, failure to notify the company of a change in the use of the property (i.e. the renting of rooms to tenants or the carrying on of a business on the property, or the failure to advise the insurance company that you have added an addition or made some other major renovation). The law firm of Singer, Kwinter has been representing homeowners in claims against insurance companies for almost 30 years. We fight for our clients to ensure that an insurance company is justifiably denying a claim and dealing with our clients in good faith.
Alf Kwinter, one of the founding partners of the firm, was counsel for the plaintiff Marino Rodriguez in the leading Ontario case of Rodriguez v. Allstate (1995). Allstate refused to pay Mr. Rodriguez's claim after his home burned down in the middle of January. The company took the position that the home was in fact a rooming house. It voided the policy and returned Mr. Rodriguez's premium, claiming the policy never existed. Alf Kwinter was successful at trial and on appeal in recovering full compensation for Mr. Rodriguez, including full solicitor and client costs. In the end, the insurance company paid Mr. Rodgriguez more than 4 times the amount it was willing to settle for before the case went to trial.
In Plester v. Wawanesa Insurance Company (2003) a jury in London, Ontario awarded Alf Kwinter's clients, the Plesters, over $500,000.00 in punitive and aggravated damages, plus the amount of their claim and prejudgment interest. The Plesters owned a furniture store which burned down in March of 1997. Their insurance company, Wawanesa, claimed the fire was arson and refused to pay the claim. At trial it became evident to the jury that Wawanesa's arson claim was groundless, and that its treatment of the Plester's throughout the history of the claim constituted bad faith. Punitive damages were awarded by the jury to punish the conduct of Wawanesa, and to ensure that future claimants that deal with this company are dealt with in good faith.
In Mazza v. Hamilton Township Farmers Mutual Insurance Company (2003), Alf Kwinter's client, Mr. Frank Mazza, former autobody mechanic turned mushroom farmer, commenced an action in St. Catharines, Ontario, against the Hamilton Township Farmers Mutual Insurance Company after they refused to indemnify him for losses sustained when his mushroom farm was destroyed by fire on August 13, 1993. Mazza's tenant, Adelia Pereira, also a plaintiff in this action, claimed under the policy for loss of her contents. Both Mazza and Pereira's apartments were destroyed in the fire.
The defendant raised numerous arguments, including arson, despite no charges being laid by the police. The fire marshal did not even attend the scene of the fire. The defendant's fire investigator had eight samples taken from the scene and had them tested for accelerants. All results came back negative.
Another defence raised was fraud. The defendant claimed that because Mazza had not started growing mushrooms when the fire occurred the farm was shut down for a period of thirty days which the defendant claimed voided the coverage. Also, because Mazza worked on his friendsâ cars and his own on the property, the insurer claimed that he was operating a body shop and that this was a material change in the risk.
After a seven and a half week trial, the jury awarded Mazza $450,000.00 for lost property and contents, $1,200,000.00 for lost profits, even though they were instructed the policy only provided coverage for $50,000.00, and $2,000,000.00 for the policy in punitive damages. Adelia Pereira was awarded $30,000.00 for her lost contents and $500,000.00 punitive damages. The jury found the defendant had breached its duty of good faith in acting in a malicious and high handed manner.
The $2,000,000.00 punitive award sets a new Canadian record, doubling the amount awarded by the jury in Whiten v. Pilot Insurance (2002).
At Singer, Kwinter we represent victims, we do not work for insurance companies.
If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident or has been faced with a denial by an insurance company, contact Singer, Kwinter and schedule your FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.
Call 1.866.285.6927
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Disclaimer: Content on this page is strictly for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.
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