Following a motor vehicle accident, the insured received statutory accident benefits until his insurer terminated payment and an arbitrator found that most of his health problems were not caused by the accident.
In the subsequent tort action against the tortfeasor, the motion judge held that the plaintiff was issue estopped from relitigating causation because the tortfeasor was a privy of the insurer.
The Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the statutory scheme under the Insurance Act creates separate alternative proceedings and does not support importing issue estoppel from SAB arbitration into the tort action.
The respondent had no right to participate in the arbitration and lacked the sufficient identity of interest required for privity.
The appeal was allowed and the arbitral findings were held not binding in the personal injury action.
