Adjusters handling auto liability claims shouldn’t be too quick to settle and take what the plaintiff’s lawyer is saying with a grain of salt. These are among the takeaways from Thursday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision in Fleury v. Paulus.

Bassman Paulus was rear-ended Nov. 20, 2008 by a vehicle driven by Michael Fleury, whose auto liability insurer was Gore. Paulus was stopped at an intersection for a yellow light.

Though it was Fleury who drove into Paulus, Fleury argued that Paulus pulled out from the left-hand turning lane into his path, cutting him off.