Kevin Rodney Mitchell

This is an appeal concerning the interpretation of an assignment agreement related to parking lot revenue.

The appellant, 200 Ferrand Realty Limited, and the respondent, 1284225 Ontario Limited, shared revenue from a parking lot. 1284225 Ontario Limited, despite having assigned its rights, attempted to negotiate new parking rates with the parking space provider.

The application judge implied a term into the parking agreement granting 1284225 Ontario Limited participative status in rate setting, without providing parties an opportunity to be heard on this issue.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding no basis for the implied term, and held that 1284225 Ontario Limited, not being a party to the parking agreement, had no right to participate in rate formulation or negotiation.

The court clarified that 1284225 Ontario Limited's interest is governed by 200 Ferrand Realty Limited's duty of good faith under the assignment agreement.

Appeal from a private arbitrator’s priority decision under the Insurance Act and the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

The arbitrator held that an elderly foreign visitor injured as a pedestrian in Ontario was a dependant of his Canadian family and therefore required to claim statutory accident benefits from their insurer.

The court held that the arbitrator erred in law by focusing on the visitor’s inability to work in Canada due to his visa status while ignoring his substantial assets and ability to support himself in his home country.

The dependency analysis under the SABS requires a holistic assessment of the claimant’s financial resources and ability to be self‑supporting, including the voluntary nature of any alleged dependency.

Because the visitor’s reliance on his family arose solely from his voluntary stay in Canada, he was not their dependant for priority purposes.