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Cross-examination: Winning Techniques Used by Skilled Cross-Examiners
Workshop-Instructor
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Date: March 4, 2010
Time: 1:00 - 4:30 PM
Organizer: The Advocates Society
Program: TAS Education Program
Location: 480 University Ave.,
Suite 1700
Speaking to Tort class-view of torts and insurance
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Date: March 8, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM
Organizer: Queen’s University
Faculty of Law
Location: Queen’s University
Macdonald Hall, 128
Union Street, Kingston
Atlantic Trial Lawyers Association
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Date: June 26, 2010
Location: St. Andrews, NB
Emergency Nurses Association of Ontario
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Date: October 22, 2010
Location: Confederation
Place Hotel
Kingston, Ontario
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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. That 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 the ads on television and in the 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 is 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. Mazzaâs tenant, Adelia Pereira, also a plaintiff in this action, claimed under the policy for loss of her contents. Both Mazza and Pereiraâs apartments were destroyed in the fire.
The defendant raised numerous defences, including arson, despite no charges being laid by the police. The fire marshal did not even attend the scene of the fire. The defendantâs 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 ãshut downä 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 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 ãmaliciousä and ãhigh handedä 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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