Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia

canada, canadian, case law, court opinion, canlii, csc-scc, 2026scc16, 2026 scc 16 (canlii), 2026, scc, 16, (canlii), 41061, 2026, civil liability, torts, intimate partner violence, recognition of novel tort, whether a new tort of intimate partner violence should be recognized, incremental development, necessity and “facts that cry out for a remedy” (jones v. tsige), three elements adopted, centred on coercive control, new tort recognized, appeal allowed in part, civil liability, torts, novel cause of action, coercive control, whether existing torts are inadequate to capture coercive control, battery and assault described as episodic, focused on physical autonomy and imminence, iied constrained to emotional harm and visible and provable illness, distinct harm to dignity, autonomy and equality identified, new tort recognized, civil liability, damages, compensatory and aggravated damages, overcompensation, whether identical awards under new and “included” torts reflect error of law, new tort includes conduct beyond battery, assault and iied, distribution modified so entire award falls under general compensatory damages for intimate partner violence, damages recharacterized, procedure, family law proceedings, joinder of tort claims, sequencing, whether tort claim can proceed within divorce litigation and how it should be ordered, family law rules and access to justice referenced for active case management, statutory remedies said to have different purposes than tort remedies, appeal allowed in part