Andrea R. Lim

The appellant appealed a judgment dismissing an appeal from an arbitrator's decision in an insurance priority dispute.

The appellant argued the judge erred in finding the arbitrator owed no deference to the Licence Appeal Tribunal and in concluding the truck was involved in an accident.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the reasons for judgment and dismissed the appeal, awarding costs of $15,000 to the respondent.

The appellant insurer appealed an arbitrator's decision in a priority dispute regarding statutory accident benefits.

The arbitrator had found that the appellant was the priority insurer for a claimant who was catastrophically injured while loading an inoperable truck onto a trailer.

The appellant argued the truck was not an automobile and the incident was not an automobile accident, and that the arbitrator's decision was an abuse of process because it conflicted with a prior License Appeal Tribunal decision.

The Superior Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the arbitrator correctly applied the purpose and direct cause tests to find the incident was an automobile accident, and that there was no abuse of process as the arbitrator had exclusive jurisdiction over the priority dispute.