Michael J. Sloniowski

This was a costs endorsement following a venue transfer motion in a slip and fall action arising from an incident at a rental cabin near North Bay.

The plaintiff had unsuccessfully sought to transfer the action to Welland, while the defendants successfully obtained a transfer to North Bay.

Applying s. 131(1) of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court held that costs should follow the event but reduced the defendants' requested amounts because the claims were excessive, involved duplication of preparation, and were disproportionate to the complexity of the matter.

The plaintiff was ordered to pay each defendant $1,200 inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The applicant was injured in a motor vehicle accident and claimed attendant care and housekeeping benefits for services provided by his former wife, daughter, and a lawn care company.

The insurer denied the claims on the basis that the caregivers did not sustain an 'economic loss' as required by s. 3(7)(e) of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule.

A FSCO arbitrator and Director's Delegate upheld the denial, finding that mere loss of time did not constitute an economic loss.

On judicial review, the Divisional Court held that the standard of review was reasonableness, despite the concurrent jurisdiction of courts and arbitrators under the Insurance Act, and found the Delegate's interpretation of 'economic loss' as requiring a financial or pecuniary loss to be reasonable.