Intact Insurance Company appealed an arbitrator's decision in a priority dispute over statutory accident benefits.
The claimant was injured in a vehicle driven by his father, whose insurance policy with Intact had been cancelled for non-payment prior to the accident.
The father was subsequently convicted of operating a motor vehicle without insurance.
The arbitrator ruled that Federated Insurance Company could relitigate the father's uninsured status, finding the abuse of process doctrine did not apply.
On appeal, the Superior Court of Justice overturned the arbitrator's decision, holding that under s. 22.1 of the Evidence Act, the conviction was proof of the offence absent evidence to the contrary, which Federated failed to provide.
The court found the arbitrator erred in law by misapplying the abuse of process doctrine and its exceptions.
