The applicant insurer appealed an arbitrator's award finding that the injured party and his girlfriend were 'spouses' under the Insurance Act, which would make the applicant liable for statutory accident benefits.
The Superior Court of Justice allowed the appeal, holding that the arbitrator erred in law by failing to properly apply the criteria for a conjugal relationship to the full three-year period prior to the accident.
The court found that the couple, who were teenagers living primarily with their respective parents during the relevant period, did not live together continuously in a conjugal relationship for three years.
