Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Commission des services financiers de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2006 ONFSCDRS 27
FSCO A04-002676
BETWEEN:
DEQO MOHAMED
Applicant
and
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL OF CANADA
Insurer
DECISION ON A MOTION
Before: Richard Feldman
Heard: By telephone conference call on January 25, 2006 and February 2, 2006.
Appearances:
Carolyn Amendola for Ms. Mohamed
William A. McClelland for Liberty International of Canada
ISSUE AND ANALYSIS:
The Applicant, Deqo Mohamed, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on July 30, 2001. She applied for and received statutory accident benefits from Liberty International of Canada ("Liberty International"), payable under the Schedule.1 Disputes arose between the parties with respect to certain accident benefits claimed under the Schedule. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Ms. Mohamed applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended.
The parties purported to settle the issues raised in this Application for Arbitration on November 14, 2005. On December 1, 2005, the Commission received a request by the solicitors for Liberty International for a consent dismissal order. Since the documents filed did not appear to comply with the requirements of Rule 69.4 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code, 4th edition — Updated October 2003 (the "Code"), they were rejected. In particular, the material was deficient in that:
The consent, signed by the representatives, does not confirm that no party to the proceeding is under a disability;
No signed Settlement Disclosure Notice was filed;
The parties did not file a written agreement explicitly stating that the consent order is final and shall not be subject to appeal, variation/revocation, or judicial review;
The parties failed to confirm that they had complied with the Settlement Regulation or to explain why the Settlement Regulation did not apply in this particular case.
Counsel for Liberty International then brought this motion, seeking an order dismissing this application. The motion material filed by Liberty International (i.e. the affidavit of William A. McClelland and the exhibits attached thereto) failed to address any of these deficiencies.
I have considered the motion material filed by Liberty International and the submissions of counsel for both parties. In addition to the documents failing to comply in form and content with the requirements of Rule 69.4 (as set out above), the larger issue here is that the Applicant is a minor and the parties have not complied with Rule 10.7 of the Code (i.e. the settlement has not been approved by a judge in accordance with Rule 7.08 of the Rules of Civil Procedure). The parties were unable to provide any reason why I should waive the requirements of Rule 10.7.
Result:
- This motion is denied, without prejudice to the right of the parties to bring a new motion for a dismissal order once they have complied with all relevant provisions of the Code (including Rule 10.7).
February 15, 2006
Richard Feldman Arbitrator
Date
Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Commission des services financiers de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2006 ONFSCDRS 27
FSCO A04-002676
BETWEEN:
DEQO MOHAMED
Applicant
and
LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL OF CANADA
Insurer
ARBITRATION ORDER
Under section 282 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended, it is ordered that:
- This motion is denied, without prejudice to the right of the parties to bring a new motion for a dismissal order once they have complied with all relevant provisions of the Code (including Rule 10.7).
February 15, 2006
Richard Feldman Arbitrator
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule C Accidents on or after November 1, 1996, Ontario Regulation 403/96, as amended.