Deal Or No Deal? When Is A Final Release Actually Final?

A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice illustrates the challenges employers can face when attempting to enforce a signed release. In Swampillai v. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada, 2018 ONSC 4023 (CanLII), the Court was asked to consider on a motion for summary judgment on whether or not the release signed by Mr. Swampillai at the time of the termination of his employment barred him from pursuing a claim for long term disability benefits. Justice Cavanaugh found that Mr. Swampillai had signed the release under circumstances that were unconscionable and, as such, the release could not prevent him from pursuing a claim for long term disability (LTD) benefits. Mr. Swampillai was thus free to continue his action against his former employer, Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Company of Canada (RSA) and Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life), who acted as the administrator of RSA's long term disability benefits program, even though