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Appeal dismissed; claim for non-earner benefits time-barred as limitation period began upon initial refusal.
The appellant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and applied for statutory accident benefits.
The insurer paid income replacement benefits but denied non-earner benefits in 2004.
After income replacement benefits were terminated in 2006, the appellant sought non-earner benefits in 2009 and commenced an action in 2012.
The motion judge granted summary judgment dismissing the action as time-barred.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, confirming that the two-year limitation period for non-earner benefits began to run when the insurer initially refused them in 2004, even while the appellant was receiving income replacement benefits.
Accident benefits claim dismissed as statute‑barred under Insurance Act limitation period.
The plaintiff sued her accident benefits insurer for breach of contract and bad faith after the insurer refused to pay non-earner benefits following a motor vehicle accident.
The insurer moved for summary judgment on the basis that the claim was statute‑barred under the two‑year limitation period in the Insurance Act and the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.
The court held that the limitation period began when the insurer clearly refused the non‑earner benefit in 2004, or alternatively when income replacement benefits were discontinued in 2006.
A subsequent application for non‑earner benefits years later could not restart the limitation period.
The court also found no evidentiary basis for claims of bad faith or mental distress in the administration of the claim.
