Adjournment denied and late-served evidence excluded due to applicant's prolonged failure to fulfill production undertakings.
The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following two motor vehicle accidents.
At the outset of the arbitration hearing, the applicant requested a third adjournment to fulfill outstanding production undertakings, while the insurer moved to exclude two medical witnesses and recently served documents due to late disclosure.
The arbitrator denied the adjournment, finding the applicant had failed to make reasonable efforts to comply with production requests over a two-year period.
The arbitrator also ruled the recently served documents inadmissible and excluded the medical witnesses, citing prejudice to the insurer's ability to respond to the case.
The arbitration was stayed pending the applicant's appeal of these preliminary rulings.
Strzalka v. Coachman Insurance Company, 2006 ONFSCDRS 6
