Dr. Butt

The Public Guardian and Trustee, acting as litigation guardian for a plaintiff under a disability, brought a motion under Rule 7.08 for court approval of a $65,000 settlement of his claims against police officers for alleged excessive use of force (Taser deployment).

The plaintiff's family opposed the settlement, arguing for higher damages.

The court reviewed the liability risks, including conflicting evidence on the number of Taser deployments and the application of s. 25(2) of the Criminal Code, as well as the medical evidence regarding damages.

The court concluded the settlement was fair, reasonable, and in the plaintiff's best interests, and approved the settlement along with $5,000 in costs to the PGT.

The applicant sought caregiver and housekeeping benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The insurer denied the claims, arguing the applicant was permanently disentitled for failing to submit a Disability Certificate (OCF-3) in a timely manner.

The Arbitrator held that the applicant was disentitled to housekeeping benefits because she never submitted an OCF-3 for that claim.

However, the insurer could not rely on the late submission of the caregiver OCF-3 to deny benefits because it failed to clearly communicate the consequence of permanent disentitlement to the applicant.

On the merits, the Arbitrator dismissed the caregiver claim, finding the applicant's evidence regarding her pre-accident caregiving responsibilities and post-accident needs to be inconsistent and unreliable.