The plaintiff was sexually abused by a priest when he was 11 years old and commenced an action for damages against the defendant church several years later. The church declined to admit liability until the start of trial. The trial proceeded on an assessment of damages and the plaintiff was awarded general damages in the sum of $250,000, damages for future loss of income in the sum of $280,000, treatment expenses in the sum of $5,000, and punitive damages in the sum of $15,000. The church appealed on three grounds: (1) the damages award was inflated because of inflammatory remarks made by plaintiff’s counsel in closing submissions; (2) the trial judge erred in admitting hearsay evidence; and (3) the award for punitive damages was unwarranted. The Court of Appeal set aside the punitive damages award and otherwise dismissed the appeal. The Court held that the trial judge erred in leaving punitive damages to the jury because no jury, properly instructed, could have made such an award. Neither the pleadings nor the facts of the case supported an award of punitive damages. There is no basis in law for a category of punitive damages arising out of the timing of an admission of liability.
