Jonathan Lim and Tom Posyniak acted as lead appellate counsel for the respondent, Desjardins Financial on an appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court (Gascoigne v. Desjardins Financial, 2020 BCCA 316), denying the claimant a lump sum payment of future benefits under a group policy of disability insurance. The appellant also appealed the trial judge’s conclusion that Desjardins conduct did not entitle her to punitive damages.
Jonathan Lim and Tom Posyniak successfully argued on appeal that there was no basis for the Court of Appeal to overturn long standing rules against granting an insured a lump sum payment of future disability benefits. The Court of Appeal also agreed that a finding of a lack of good faith on the part of an insurer does not automatically entitle a plaintiff to punitive damages.
Jurisdiction
- British Columbia
