The Supreme Court of Canada considered whether to recognize a new tort of intimate partner violence in the context of family law proceedings.
The appellant wife had suffered a 16-year pattern of physical, psychological, and financial abuse by her husband.
The majority of the Court recognized the new tort of intimate partner violence, focusing on the harm of coercive control and the deprivation of autonomy, dignity, and equality.
The Court allowed the appeal in part, modifying the trial judge's damages award to fall entirely under general compensatory damages for the new tort.
The dissenting judges argued that existing torts were sufficient to compensate the wife and that recognizing a new tort was unnecessary and procedurally inappropriate in this case.
