After Whiten: Punitive Damages for Breath of contract in Canada

摘要

Considerable doubt has been cast recently on the traditional view that exemplary or punitive damages have no place in the law of contract. In several cases, and especially in Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary, the House of Lords has inched toward the position that punitive damages may be awarded, but has stopped short of fully embracing this principle. By contrast, the Supreme Court of Canada has now fully embraced it in several recent cases, and especially in Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co, although the scope of its application remains unclear. It is still far from certain that punitive damages will be awarded for "pure" breach of contract between commercial parties of similar commercial experience and sophistication, rather even after Whiten it is still the case that such awards may be limited to situations where hurt feelings or damaged peace of mind are at stake, for example, in wrongful dismissal or insurance claim denial cases, respectively.