Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog
In the case of Keam v. Caddey, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered that the insurance company pay to the Plaintiff $40,000 in ADDITION to damages for pain and suffering because the insurance company REFUSED to participate in the mediation process before the case went to trial. The Insurance Act REQUIRES that parties in a car accident case MEDIATE the disputes before it goes to trial. Our legistlature has also called for Mandatory Mediation in certain provincial jursidictions, like Toronto. The Ontario Court of Appeal found that the insurance company’s hard ball tactic of REFUSING to MEDIATE warranted a $40,000 penalty against the insurer.
The Honourable Justice Kathryn Feldman writing for the Ontario Court of Appeal stated “it is this approach that the legislature has disavowed by making mediation mandatory.”
My comments about this decision were quoted in the recent edition of the Law Times Journal. The link to the article is:
http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201010187724/Headline-News/Insurer-playing-hardball-scores-hefty-fine
