Slavko Ristich

The appellant appealed a Licence Appeal Tribunal decision finding he was not an 'insured person' under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) and that the respondent insurer was not required to assign a claim number.

The appellant's policy with the respondent had lapsed prior to the motor vehicle accident.

The appellant argued that anyone involved in an accident in Ontario has SABS coverage and that the respondent was required to pay benefits pending a priority dispute.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the Tribunal's interpretation that 'a particular motor vehicle liability policy' refers to a specific policy, not a generic one.

The court also rejected the appellant's procedural fairness arguments regarding page limits and adjudicator expertise.

This application sought court approval for a proposed settlement of statutory accident benefits claims for a catastrophically impaired party under disability, along with approval of the applicant's counsel's contingency fee agreement.

The court approved the settlement amount but significantly reduced the solicitor's requested 33.3% contingency fee to 15% of the net recovery, finding the higher fee neither fair nor reasonable given the case's lack of complexity and risk.

The court emphasized the need for detailed justification for fees, especially for parties under disability.