Eban Bayefsky

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits.

The insurer denied the claim for income replacement benefits, leading the applicant to apply for arbitration.

The insurer brought a motion to dismiss or stay the arbitration because the applicant had commenced a parallel court action against the insurer.

On consent of the parties, the arbitrator ordered that the arbitration be stayed pending the outcome of the court action and that the parties bear their own expenses of the motion.

Following an arbitration regarding statutory accident benefits where the applicant was unsuccessful, the arbitrator determined the quantum of expenses payable by the applicant to the insurer.

The arbitrator reviewed the insurer's bill of costs, applying the maximum hourly rates permitted under the Dispute Resolution Practice Code and the Legal Aid Services Act.

After assessing the preparation and attendance time for various pre-hearing conferences, motions, and the hearing itself, the arbitrator awarded the insurer $9,063.10 in reasonable expenses and disbursements.

The applicant applied for arbitration after the insurer denied his claims for income replacement and housekeeping benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The applicant's representatives were removed from the record due to an inability to contact him.

The applicant failed to attend the scheduled arbitration hearing and did not respond to subsequent orders from the arbitrator requiring him to confirm his intention to proceed.

The arbitrator dismissed the arbitration as abandoned and ordered the applicant to pay the insurer's reasonable expenses.

In a dispute over statutory accident benefits, the insurer brought a pre-hearing motion seeking the production of medical reports and raw data from two doctors prepared for the applicant's tort action.

The applicant objected, citing the implied undertaking rule and arguing the insurer had sufficient medical evidence.

The arbitrator ordered the production of the documents, finding that the applicant had waived any right to deny access by providing the tort reports to his own experts in the arbitration, who relied on and commented on them.

The insurer was entitled to the documents to properly respond to and cross-examine the applicant's experts.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits for caregiving, housekeeping, and medical treatment.

The insurer denied the claims beyond June 25, 2003.

The arbitrator found that the applicant did not suffer a substantial inability to perform her pre-accident caregiving and housekeeping activities, noting she had returned to most tasks and received significant assistance from family members both before and after the accident.

The arbitrator also dismissed most of the claims for medical benefits, finding the proposed treatment plans were not reasonable and necessary given the applicant's improved condition, but awarded $540 for an outstanding physical therapy account.

The claim for a special award was dismissed.

The applicant, who was injured in a motor vehicle accident, sought production of the insurer's entire claims file, including internal activity logs and correspondence created after the application for mediation.

The insurer claimed litigation and solicitor-client privilege over certain documents.

The arbitrator dismissed the motion for production, applying the presumption that documents created after the application for mediation are for the dominant purpose of litigation.

The arbitrator found that the applicant's claim for a special award did not override the insurer's claims of privilege.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and sought statutory accident benefits.

Following a decision dismissing her claims, the issue of expenses was addressed.

The arbitrator applied the new expense provisions under section 12(2) of Regulation 664, finding that the insurer was entirely successful, the applicant failed to respond to a reasonable settlement offer, and the applicant's conduct prolonged and hindered the proceeding.

The applicant was ordered to pay the insurer's reasonable expenses of the arbitration.

The applicant sought medical benefits following an alleged motor vehicle accident.

The insurer denied the claims, alleging the accident was staged and the applicant was not a passenger.

The applicant and her former representative failed to attend the arbitration hearing.

Based on inconsistencies in statements and evidence from another alleged passenger that the accident was fabricated, the arbitrator found the applicant was not involved in an accident and dismissed the arbitration.

The arbitrator awarded the insurer its arbitration expenses of $1,943.52, holding the applicant and her former representative jointly and severally liable due to their non-participation and the vexatious nature of the proceeding.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and received income replacement benefits (IRBs) from the insurer.

The parties disputed the conversion of IRBs to loss of earning capacity benefits (LECBs) and the calculation of interest on overdue benefits.

The matter was remitted to the arbitrator to determine the date the parties agreed to convert IRBs to LECBs.

The arbitrator found that the parties agreed to the conversion on June 12, 1996, when the applicant signed an acknowledgement.

The insurer was ordered to pay interest on the LECBs as of June 10, 1996, to the extent of any deficiency between the benefits paid and the benefits ultimately found owing.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following two motor vehicle accidents.

At the outset of the arbitration hearing, the applicant requested a third adjournment to fulfill outstanding production undertakings, while the insurer moved to exclude two medical witnesses and recently served documents due to late disclosure.

The arbitrator denied the adjournment, finding the applicant had failed to make reasonable efforts to comply with production requests over a two-year period.

The arbitrator also ruled the recently served documents inadmissible and excluded the medical witnesses, citing prejudice to the insurer's ability to respond to the case.

The arbitration was stayed pending the applicant's appeal of these preliminary rulings.

The applicant's claim for death benefits following the death of her daughter in a motor vehicle accident was previously dismissed because she failed to establish financial dependence.

In this subsequent decision on expenses, both parties sought their costs of the arbitration.

Applying the criteria under Rule 75.2 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code, the arbitrator awarded reasonable expenses to the insurer.

The arbitrator noted that while the applicant proceeded efficiently and honestly believed in the merits of her sensitive case, the insurer was entirely successful on the principal issue and no novel issues were raised.

The applicant sought arbitration for outstanding medical assessment accounts following a motor vehicle accident.

After her initial counsel's practice was taken over by the Law Society, her new counsel advised the insurer and the assessment facilities that the applicant would not be pursuing the outstanding accounts.

The applicant failed to attend the pre-hearing conference and the arbitration hearing.

The arbitrator dismissed the application, finding the applicant failed to discharge her onus of establishing entitlement to the claimed benefits.

No costs were awarded.

The insurer sought expenses following its success in a preliminary issue hearing where it was determined that the insured was precluded from proceeding with her arbitration due to a full and final settlement.

The arbitrator considered the criteria under Rule 75.2 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.

While the insurer was entirely successful, the insured's position was not manifestly unfounded and raised a legitimate issue regarding the cooling-off period.

The arbitrator awarded the insurer $1,500 in expenses.

The applicant sought income replacement benefits following a motor vehicle accident, claiming he was substantially unable to perform his pre-accident job as a retail investigator.

The insurer terminated benefits and sought repayment of an overpayment.

The arbitrator dismissed the applicant's claim, finding he lacked credibility and had misrepresented his pre-accident medical condition, the nature of his injuries, and the reasons for leaving his employment.

The arbitrator concluded the applicant left his job due to poor performance rather than accident-related injuries.

The applicant was ordered to repay $1,140.30 in overpaid benefits.

The Applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for other disability benefits from her insurer.

The insurer denied the claim.

The Arbitrator found that the Applicant failed to submit her application within the 90-day time limit and did not have a reasonable excuse for the delay.

Furthermore, the Arbitrator held that the Applicant was not substantively entitled to other disability benefits, as her pre-existing severe disability from fibromyalgia meant she did not suffer a partial or complete inability to carry on a normal life as a result of the accident.

The application was dismissed.

The applicant's daughter was fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident.

The applicant, who resides in Vietnam, applied for death benefits from the insurer, claiming she was principally dependent for financial support on her daughter.

The insurer denied the claim.

The arbitrator found that the applicant failed to establish the requisite degree of financial dependence, as she provided insufficient and inconsistent evidence regarding her sources of income, the amount of support received from her daughter versus her other children, and her monthly expenses.

The claim for death benefits was dismissed.

Following a preliminary issue hearing where the insurer was successful in establishing that the applicant was not catastrophically impaired, the arbitrator determined the issue of arbitration expenses.

The arbitrator awarded the applicant 20% of his expenses, noting that while the insurer was successful on the principal issue, the applicant succeeded on secondary issues and the insurer failed to meaningfully participate in settlement discussions.

The applicant was awarded $3,047.89 in expenses.

The applicant applied for statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident and subsequently applied for arbitration.

After failing to respond to numerous communications from the Commission and failing to attend the pre-hearing conference, the arbitrator issued a notice of intent to dismiss the arbitration.

The applicant did not respond or object to the notice.

The arbitrator dismissed the arbitration without a hearing, finding it to be frivolous and abandoned, and awarded reasonable expenses to the insurer.

The applicant applied for statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

After the applicant's representative's law practice was taken over by the Law Society, the Commission made multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact the applicant.

The applicant failed to attend two scheduled pre-hearing conferences.

The insurer requested a dismissal of the arbitration.

The Arbitrator issued a notice of intention to dismiss the arbitration without a hearing on the grounds that the proceeding is frivolous, vexatious, or commenced in bad faith, giving the parties 20 days to object.

Following a preliminary issue hearing where the applicant was precluded from proceeding to arbitration on attendant care benefits, the insurer sought its expenses.

On consent of the parties, the arbitrator ordered the applicant to pay the insurer's expenses in the amount of $5,000, payable in equal monthly instalments over six months.

If the applicant defaults, the insurer may request an order for the balance of the expenses originally sought.