Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2014 ONFSCDRS 116 FSCO A12-006257, A12-007597 and A13-000001
BETWEEN:
WARDA HASSAN MOHAMUD HASSAN ANTHONY FOSTER Applicants
and
TRADERS GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY Insurer
REASONS FOR DECISION
Before: Rosemary Muzzi Heard: June 13, 2014
Appearances: No one appearing for Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hassan and Mr. Foster Kevin Griffiths for Traders General Insurance Company
Issues:
Warda Hassan, Mohamud Hassan, and Anthony Foster (the Applicants) were allegedly injured in a motor vehicle accident on December 20, 2009. They applied for statutory accident benefits from Traders General Insurance Company (“Traders”), payable under the Schedule.1 Ultimately Traders sought a repayment of benefits asserting that the applicants had not been involved in an accident as defined in the Schedule. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation. The Applicants applied for arbitration but failed to participate in the process.
The issues in this hearing are:
- Should the applications for arbitration be dismissed?
- Should Traders be awarded its expenses?
Result:
- The applications for arbitration are dismissed.
- Traders is entitled to its expenses.
EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:
Background
These three related cases were eventually joined together at a pre-hearing held on April 17, 2014 which none of the applicants attended.2 Moreover, their counsel appeared and advised that he had been unable to reach any of them by phone, their phone numbers having been disconnected, and the correspondence he sent to them having been returned. As a result, counsel would seek to withdraw from the record. Traders asked for the matters to proceed and I set an arbitration hearing date for June 13, 2014.
Counsel off Record
Counsel’s May 16, 2014 written request to withdraw from the record was sent to the Commission and delivered to each of the applicants at their last known address. None of the applicants contacted the Commission in response. As a result, by letter dated June 9, 2014, I allowed counsel to withdraw from the record.
Dismissal of Applications for Arbitration
None of the applicants appeared at their arbitration hearing date on June 13, 2014. Traders requested an order dismissing the applications for arbitration on the basis that it appeared that the applicants had abandoned their claims for accident benefits.
Given that Mr. Hassan had never appeared for any proceeding and that both Ms. Hassan and Mr. Foster had no contact with the Commission after August 8, 2013, I dismissed all three applications for arbitration.
EXPENSES:
Traders is entitled to its reasonable expenses.
I have examined Traders’ Bills of Costs and find that all claims are appropriate and in accordance with the Expense Regulation. In seeking expenses Traders restricted its request to a few hours of lawyer time and its disbursements in each of the three cases. Therefore, I award Traders its expenses as follows: from Warda Hassan: $1,400.62; from Mohamud Hassan: $1,151.23, and from Anthony Foster: $1,304.63.
July 9, 2014
Rosemary Muzzi Arbitrator
Date
ARBITRATION ORDER
Financial Services Commission of Ontario Neutral Citation: 2014 ONFSCDRS 116 FSCO A12-006257 A12-007591 and A13-000001
BETWEEN:
WARDA HASSAN MOHAMUD HASSAN ANTHONY FOSTER Applicant
and
TRADERS GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY Insurer
Under section 282 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended, it is ordered that:
- The applications for arbitration of Warda Hassan, Mohamud Hassan, and Anthony Foster are dismissed.
- Warda Hassan shall pay Traders’ expenses in the amount of $1,400.62.
- Mohamud Hassan shall pay Traders’ expenses in the amount of $1,151.23.
- Anthony Foster shall pay Traders’ expenses in the amount of $1,304.63.
July 9, 2014
Rosemary Muzzi Arbitrator
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — Accidents on or after November 1, 1996, Ontario Regulation 403/96, as amended.
- Two of the three applicants, Ms. Hassan and Mr. Foster, had appeared at an earlier pre-hearing held at the Commission on August 8, 2013. The purpose of the April 17, 2014 pre-hearing was to allow for the administrative transfer of Ms. Hassan’s case and to afford Mr. Hassan another opportunity to attend.