Christopher J. Schnarr

Intact Insurance Company appealed an arbitrator's decision that found a motorcycle passenger and driver were spouses under the Insurance Act, obliging Intact to pay accident benefits.

The passenger was in a committed five-year relationship with the driver but maintained a separate residence and was still married to another individual.

The Superior Court of Justice allowed the appeal, finding the arbitrator committed an extricable error of law by applying family law principles to the definition of 'spouse' for insurance purposes and by failing to adhere to the bright-line test requiring parties to have lived together in the same residence for three years to be considered spouses under the Insurance Act.

The court applied a correctness standard of review.

The plaintiff, Hassan Iman Mame, brought a combined tort and accident benefits action following a motor vehicle accident.

After a jury verdict assessing non-pecuniary damages at $45,000, the trial judge conducted a threshold motion under s. 267.5 of the Insurance Act to determine if the plaintiff's injuries met the "permanent serious impairment of an important physical, mental or psychological function" test.

Despite the jury's assessment, the court found that the plaintiff's evidence, even at its highest, did not demonstrate an impairment that substantially interfered with most usual activities of daily living as required by O.Reg. 381/03.

Consequently, the plaintiff was not entitled to non-pecuniary damages, which would have been subject to a statutory deductible.

The plaintiff was awarded $50,000 for pecuniary losses as assessed by the jury, and the accident benefits action against State Farm was dismissed based on the jury's negative answer.