Nureen Sharif

The applicant applied for statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

After the applicant failed to attend multiple pre-hearings and could not be located by his counsel, his counsel brought a motion to be removed from the record.

The insurer brought a concurrent motion to dismiss the arbitration.

The arbitrator granted the motion to remove counsel, finding a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship.

The arbitrator also conditionally dismissed the arbitration as an abuse of process and vexatious proceeding due to the applicant's non-participation, subject to the insurer publishing a notice in a local newspaper giving the applicant 30 days to respond.

The applicant failed to attend scheduled pre-hearings and ceased communicating with his counsel regarding his claim for statutory accident benefits.

The insurer brought a motion to dismiss the application without a hearing, and the applicant's counsel moved to be removed as representatives of record.

The arbitrator granted the counsel's motion to be removed.

Rather than dismissing the claim as frivolous or vexatious, the arbitrator deemed the application withdrawn under Rule 70 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.

The applicant was ordered to pay $1,000 in expenses to the insurer due to his failure to participate.

The applicant brought a motion for a third-party production order for cell phone records and an adjournment of the arbitration hearing due to a recent ankle injury.

The arbitrator dismissed the request for third-party production because the applicant failed to comply with the mandatory procedural requirements under Rule 67 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.

However, the arbitrator granted the adjournment request on a peremptory basis, subject to conditions including the payment of $150 in fixed costs to the insurer for the last-minute motion.