Derek Ross Greenside

The appellant appealed an arbitration decision denying her claim for spousal death benefits following the death of the insured in a motor vehicle accident.

The appellant claimed she was the deceased's common-law spouse, despite the deceased being married and continuing to live with his wife at the time of his death.

The Director's Delegate upheld the arbitrator's finding that the appellant failed to establish a conjugal relationship of sufficient permanence, noting the lack of financial interdependence and the deceased's ongoing cohabitation with his wife.

The appeal was dismissed.

The applicant, the former spouse of an insured person who died in a motor vehicle accident, applied for death benefits under paragraphs 2 and 4 of subsection 25(2) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The parties' separation agreement explicitly waived spousal support but provided for child support.

The applicant argued that the child support payments constituted "support" under the Schedule because she received an indirect economic benefit from them.

The arbitrator rejected this argument, finding that "support" in the context of a former spouse refers to spousal support.

As the insured had no obligation to provide spousal support at the time of the accident, the applicant was not entitled to death benefits.

However, the arbitrator awarded the applicant her arbitration expenses due to the novel issue of interpretation presented.