Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Commission des services financiers de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2007 ONFSCDRS 39
FSCO A06-001839
BETWEEN:
YI ZHANG
Applicant
and
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
Insurer
REASONS FOR DECISION
Before:
William J. Renahan
Heard:
March 1, 2007, at the offices of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario in Toronto.
Appearances:
Jonathan B. Schrieder for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Neither Ms. Zhang nor her representative, Sahereh Baghbani, appeared
Issues:
The Applicant, Yi Zhang, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on October 28, 2004. She applied for statutory accident benefits from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("State Farm"), payable under the Schedule.1 State Farm refused to pay certain benefits. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Ms. Zhang applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended.
The issues in this hearing are:
Is Ms. Zhang entitled to receive a medical benefit in the amount of $2,197 for treatment provided by Optimum Health claimed pursuant to section 14 of the Schedule?
Is Ms. Zhang entitled to attendant care benefits in the amount of $610 for the period from October 29, 2004 to November 25, 2004 pursuant to section 16 of the Schedule?
Is Ms. Zhang entitled to payments for housekeeping and home maintenance services in the amount of $2,288 for the period from October 29, 2004 to April 28, 2005, pursuant to section 22 fo the Schedule?
Is either party entitled to expenses of the arbitration proceeding pursuant to section 282(11) of the Insurance Act R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8?
Result:
- The Application for Arbitration is adjourned to a date to be arranged.
EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:
In her reporting letter following the pre-hearing which was held on January 8, 2007, the arbitrator noted that Ms. Baghbani was unable to contact her client, Ms. Zhang, and that Ms. Baghbani would apply for permission to remove herself as representative at the hearing scheduled to commence March 1, 2007.
Ms. Baghbani did not appear at the hearing. She did not comply with the procedures set out in Rule 9.7 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code (4th Edition) for seeking permission to withdraw as representative.
Ms. Zhang did not appear at the hearing. State Farm asked that I dismiss Ms. Zhang's Application for Arbitration.
Ms. Zhang signed her application for arbitration on August 10, 2006. In that application she gave a Toronto mailing address. The arbitrator addressed a copy of her reporting letter following the pre-hearing to the Toronto address. On January 10 and on January 11, 2007, the Commission sent Notices of Hearing to the Toronto address. On February 6, 2007, the caseworker on this file noted on the Commission's computerized case tracking system a new address in Markham for Ms. Zhang. In her computer entry the case worker wrote: "Confirmed change of address for applicant as mail returned - MARS updated accordingly."
I find that notice of this hearing was not sent to Ms. Zhang's new address. Accordingly, I will not dismiss this application for arbitration in circumstances where the applicant was not notified of the hearing through no fault of her own.
Ms. Baghbani continues as Ms. Zhang's representative until she obtains an order permitting her to withdraw as representative. The Commission will provide both representatives and Ms. Zhang at her Markham address with a copy of these Reasons for Decision. The parties, through their representatives, shall contact each other and the Commission within ten days of receiving these Reasons to arrange a new hearing date. If the parties do not arrange a new hearing date, the Commission may do so without input from the parties.
EXPENSES:
I defer the issue of entitlement to expenses of the hearing.
March 2, 2007
William J. Renahan
Arbitrator
Date
Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Commission des services financiers de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2007 ONFSCDRS 39
FSCO A06-001839
BETWEEN:
YI ZHANG
Applicant
and
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY
Insurer
ARBITRATION ORDER
Under section 282 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended, it is ordered that:
The hearing scheduled for March 1, 2007 is adjourned to a date to be arranged by the parties.
The parties, through their representatives, shall contact each other and the Commission within ten days of receiving these Reasons to arrange a new hearing date. If the parties do not arrange a new hearing date, the Commission may do so without input from the parties.
March 2, 2007
William J. Renahan
Arbitrator
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — Accidents on or after November 1, 1996, Ontario Regulation 403/96, as amended.