Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Commission des services financiers de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2014 ONFSCDRS 121
Appeal P13-00019
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF ARBITRATIONS
GIOVANNI BRUNO Appellant
and
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE COMPANY Respondent
BEFORE: David Evans
REPRESENTATIVES: Peter B. Cozzi for Mr. Bruno Rachel Stephenson for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
HEARING DATE: July 10, 2014
APPEAL EXPENSE ORDER
Under section 283 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended, it is ordered that:
- Mr. Bruno shall pay State Farm Automobile Insurance Company its legal expenses of this appeal in the amount of $3,057.05, inclusive of disbursements and HST.
July 22, 2014
David Evans Director’s Delegate
Date
REASONS FOR DECISION
I. NATURE OF THE APPEAL
Mr. Bruno appealed Arbitrator Muzzi’s order of May 16, 2013 denying him the statutory accident benefits he claimed from State Farm Automobile Insurance Company under the SABS–1996.1 I denied the appeal in my decision dated March 26, 2014. In a letter decision dated April 30, 2014, the Arbitrator awarded State Farm arbitration expenses of $4,960.47, of which $4,000 represent legal fees. State Farm now seeks its appeal expenses.
II. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
This was a relatively straightforward appeal. The appeal hearing lasted about an hour, and the appeal decision was only six pages long, with the main point being that the Arbitrator had an evidentiary basis for her findings.
State Farm seeks about $4,300 in legal fees, including $150 per hour for Mr. Robert S. Franklin.
Mr. Bruno’s main submission is that the preparation time for Mr. Franklin was excessive.
In addition, I noted to the parties that the $150 maximum under Rule 78 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code – Updated January 2014 is only available to representatives of insureds. Mr. Franklin’s Legal Aid rate with the experience adjustment is about $130.
Mr. Bruno therefore submits that the appropriate amount for legal fees should be $3,000, whereas State Farm submits that, with the correction for Mr. Franklin’s rate, it should be about $4,000.
I find that the appropriate amount for legal fees should be $3,000. First, this is in line with the average awarded to insurers who succeed on appeal: see Bains and RBC General Insurance Company, (FSCO P09-00005, September 8, 2010). Second, it would seem unusual to award as much for legal fees on appeal as on arbitration, considering that the arbitration hearing required a full day of hearing and the preparation for it. Third, I have only awarded $4,000 in legal fees in cases such as Hayward and Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada (FSCO P11-00026 and P11-00028, August 23, 2013), where the appeal decision involved four separate orders and was one of my longest appeal decisions. As noted above, this appeal decision was much simpler and shorter.
Mr. Bruno did not dispute the disbursements claimed of $57.05, including HST.
I am not prepared to award any expenses for the expense hearing itself, as it lasted less than ten minutes and I agreed with Mr. Bruno regarding the amount of the claim for legal fees.
Therefore, I find that a reasonable figure for the expenses of this appeal is $3,057.05, inclusive of disbursements and HST.
July 22, 2014
David Evans Director’s Delegate
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — Accidents on or after November 1, 1996, Ontario Regulation 403/96, as amended.