Sinel Presents at Landmark Cases in the Law of Punitive Damages
On 6-7 October 2022, Professors Sinel and Neyers attended Landmark Cases in the Law of Punitive Damages, an invitation-only workshop hosted by the University of Oxford at Keble College. The purpose of the event was to discuss leading cases from across the common law world in relation to punitive and exemplary damages. The workshop included academics and senior judges from the UK, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.
Professor Neyers served as an observer and commentator and Professor Sinel presented a paper on the (in)famous case of Whiten v Pilot Insurance Co, 2002 SCC 18. In her presentation, Sinel defended the availability of punitive damages for breach of contract, but not for the reasons given by the Supreme Court in its 2002 decision.
Other cases examined included: Huckle v Money, Wilkes v Wood, Rookes v Barnard, Broome v Cassell & Co Ltd, John v MGN Ltd, Kuddus v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Constabulary, Harris v Digital Pulse Pty Ltd, Lamb v Cotogno, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co v Campbell, Gray v Motor Accident Commission, Cour de cassation, Civ 1, 1 Decembre 2010, no 09.1303, Mathias v Accor Economy Lodging Inc, Couch v A-G (No 2), and PH Hydraulics & Engineering Pte Ltd v Airtrust (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Professor Sinel’s paper will be published in the new year by Hart Publishing in an edited collection by James Goudkamp (Oxford) and Eleni Katsampouka (Cambridge). Professor Sinel’s presentation and the publication form part of a larger research project, funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Just Feelings: A Tort Law Theory of Emotion.
