Law360 Canada ( May 15, 2026, 12:11 PM EDT) -- Appeal by appellant from a judgment of the Ontario Court of Appeal which set aside in part a trial judge’s decision. The appellant initiated divorce proceedings in which she proved that she had been the victim of abuse at the hands of her husband, the respondent, over the course of their marriage. The trial judge described the abuse as a “16-year pattern of coercion and control.” The trial judge created a new tort of family violence and awarded damages to the appellant. The Court of Appeal found that the creation of a novel tort was unnecessary in the circumstances since existing torts, properly applied, addressed the harm suffered. It declined to recognize the new torts of domestic violence or coercive control and reduced the damage award. The parties having agreed not to contest the quantum of damages, the only issue now before the Court was the basis for liability in tort. The appellant submitted the trial judge was right to award damages based on a novel intentional tort of family violence. The respondent replied that the existing torts of battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress provided an adequate basis for the damage award, and that the common law should not be extended to recognize a new tort as the basis for liability....