Mr. March

Following the dismissal of the applicant's claim for statutory accident benefits, the insurer sought partial indemnity expenses of $13,073.98 for the arbitration proceeding.

The arbitrator considered the criteria under Regulation 664, noting the insurer's success and credibility concerns regarding the applicant's testimony.

However, given the brevity of the three-hour hearing and the lack of complexity, the arbitrator fixed the expenses payable by the applicant to the insurer at $5,000.00 inclusive of fees, disbursements, and taxes.

The Insurer brought a motion seeking relief from the strict time limits under the Dispute Resolution Practice Code to allow it to rely on a late-served arbitration brief, surveillance evidence, and witness lists.

The arbitrator dismissed the requests regarding the arbitration brief and surveillance evidence, finding no evidence of 'extraordinary circumstances' to justify the late service.

The Insurer was permitted to call only those witnesses specifically identified in the pre-hearing letter.

The arbitrator also ordered the Applicant to continue efforts to obtain his ODSP file but declined to order production of updated medical records or to quash a summons served on the Insurer's claims adjuster.