The New Tort of Intimate Partner Violence: Practical Strategies After Ahluwalia 2026

Course Instructors
Sandra L. Kovacs — KazLaw Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
Janelle O'Connor — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver
David Tobin — Frenkel Tobin LLP, Toronto

About the Course Instructors
Sandy Kovacs is a leading personal injury trial lawyer in BC. Alongside her colleague Tanya Martin, she is also an adjunct professor teaching Law 433C: Special Topics in Tort Law (Personal Injury) at UBC Allard. She is a past president of the Vancouver Bar Association and a past president of the Lawyers' Inn Society (Law Courts Inn). She currently sits on the board of directors for the Lawyers' Assistance Program (LAPBC).

Prior to joining the plaintiffs' bar in 2016, she worked for more than a decade as insurance defence counsel, mostly in aviation, occupier's liability, and medical malpractice matters. For the past seven years, she has worked exclusively for plaintiffs with complex personal injury claims for losses arising from historical sexual abuse, traumatic brain injuries, orthopedic injuries, and chronic pain. She achieved what may be the largest personal injury judgment in the history of the province for a severely brain injured plaintiff, in Uy v. Dhillon, 2020 BCSC 1302, a record punitive damages award against a Roman Catholic Diocese in a historical abuse claim, the first involving an adult victim in Canada, in Anderson v. Molon, 2020 BCSC 1247, and the largest compensatory damages judgment for a childhood sexual abuse survivor in H.N. v. School District No. 61 (Greater Victoria), 2024 BCSC 128, a decision that is under appeal on the issue of vicarious liability.  Recently, she settled a historical child sexual grooming and abuse claim for $3.4M. In addition to her injury practice, drawing on her previous experience in insurance matters, she also takes occasional retainers as independent counsel for insured policyholders in above-policy limits exposure matters.

Janelle O'Connor is a plaintiff lawyer at Murphy Battista LLP, who practices exclusively in the areas of civil sexual assault and class actions on behalf of plaintiffs. She represents men, women and children in their civil sexual assault claims, both historical and recent. Many of her sexual abuse cases involve institutions, such as religious organizations, school boards, and government ministries. She also pursues class actions, with a particular interest in those involving institutional abuse. Notably, she was class counsel in the settlement of an estimated $100M class action for women who experienced gender and sexual harassment while working and volunteering with the RCMP in non-member roles. For over a decade, her personal and professional interests have been in the socio-legal field, with a particular interest in Indigenous issues and gender violence.

David Tobin has been practicing exclusively in the area of family law and child protection since being called to the bar in 2014. He became a founding partner of Frenkel Tobin LLP, having previously spent time at a boutique family law firm where he gained experience in all aspects of the practice.

David represents clients at all levels of court in Ontario and before the Child and Family Services Review Board, and his significant trial experience allows him to vigorously represent clients across the full range of family law matters. He has presented to the CBA, 311 Jarvis Street Court House, and the Law Society of Ontario. Recently, he has spent a significant portion of his practice litigating family violence claims and has achieved the two highest damages awards for family violence claims in Canada, with one of those cases referenced by the Supreme Court of Canada in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16.

• the key elements of the new tort of Intimate Partner Violence
• how coercive control shapes liability and evidentiary requirements
• when to pursue IPV claims alongside assault, battery, or other torts
• how courts may approach damages, causation, and compensation
• the interaction between tort claims and family law remedies
• emerging litigation strategies and unresolved issues following Ahluwalia