Joseph Yohav Evans

The defendants, Turgut Askar and Beck Taxi Ltd., brought a motion to change the trial venue from Barrie to Toronto.

The plaintiff, Leela Rampersad, opposed the motion.

The court granted the defendants' motion, finding that Toronto was a "substantially better" venue given the location of the motor vehicle accident, the residences of the parties and most potential witnesses, and the plaintiff's connections to Toronto for employment and medical treatment.

The only connection to Barrie was the location of the plaintiff's counsel.

The appellant insurer appealed a decision of the Licence Appeal Tribunal finding that the respondent was involved in an 'accident' under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The respondent was injured while 'car surfing' on the rear bumper of a moving vehicle.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the adjudicator's application of the purpose test.

The court found that while reckless, the vehicle was being used for its normal purpose of transportation, and thus the incident constituted an accident.