Lawsuits are not necessarily about money.
On more than one occasion I’ve witnessed plaintiffs who remain deeply wounded even after winning favourable awards or settlements. The reason: money simply won’t bring back their beloved .
Sometimes the plaintiff would have preferred an apology to million-dollar settlement stating “this settlement offer is not an admission to liability.”
Unfortunately, in civil suits an apology often can be, and is, seen as admission of liabilities. As such, an apology may well be the last thing a defendant would offer.
Once a defendant admits to liabilities, the plaintiff no longer needs to prove its case and may move for a summary judgment, where the court will assess damages based on the admitted liabilites and award the plaintiff accordingly. This is why there are the “no liability” stipulation on settlement offers.
To address this issue, the Ontario government introduced Bill 108, Apologies Act, 2008 in October. This proposed legislation is aimed at encouraging defendants to commiserate with the plaintiffs and facilitating the healing process for the wronged.
Some highlights of the bill:
- For civil litigation purposes, an apology does not constitute an admission of liability to law.
- An apology does not affect insurance coverage for any person connected to the matter, despite any other law.
- Apologies are not admissible as admissions to fault or liability in civil proceedings, administrative proceedings, or arbitration proceedings.
- However, this proposed legislation is not applicable to criminal proceedings or proceedings under the Provincial Offences Act.
The proposed legislation is currently under its second reading and is not yet law. For more information, please click here to visit the website of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
