Mohammad Noorirad v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, 2014 ONFSCDRS 42

Financial Services Commission des

Commission services financiers

of Ontario de l’Ontario

Neutral Citation: 2014 ONFSCDRS 42

FSCO A13-001488

BETWEEN:

MOHAMMAD NOORIRAD

Applicant

and

STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE

INSURANCE COMPANY

Insurer

REASONS FOR DECISION

Before: Arbitrator Jeffrey Rogers

Heard: March 3, 2014, at the offices of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario in Toronto

Appearances: Ms. Emma Duggan, solicitor for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

Issues:

The Applicant, Mohammad Noorirad, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on May 2, 2011. He applied for and received statutory accident benefits from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”), payable under the Schedule.¹ Disputes arose regarding his entitlement to certain further benefits. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Mr. Noorirad applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended.

A pre-hearing discussion was held on January 2, 2014. Mr. Ahmadreza Bazyar, of Bazyar Legal Services, represented Mr. Noorirad. Mr. Noorirad did not attend. The pre-hearing Arbitrator set a hearing date for March 3, 2014.

Mr. Bazyar later informed the pre-hearing Arbitrator that he could not contact his client and was seeking to be removed from the record. The Arbitrator therefore scheduled a motion for removal, also for March 3, 2014.

The issues in this hearing are:

Should Bazyar Legal Services be removed from the record as Mr. Noorirad’s representative?
Should this arbitration be dismissed?

Result:

Bazyar Legal Services is removed from the record as Mr. Noorirad’s representative.
This arbitration is dismissed.

EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:

Mr. Noorirad did not attend the hearing on March 3, 2014. He has not participated in this arbitration and has failed to instruct his representative.

I am satisfied that Mr. Noorirad was given notice of the motion and of the hearing at his last known address contained in the records of the Dispute Resolution Group, as required by Rule 5.7 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.

I find that there has been a breakdown in the relationship between Bazyar Legal Services and Mr. Noorirad, as a result of his failure to give instructions and to participate in this arbitration.

Bazyar Legal Services is therefore removed from the record as Mr. Noorirad’s representative.

Mr. Noorirad bears the onus of proving entitlement to the claimed accident benefits. No evidence having been presented in support of his claims, this arbitration is dismissed.

EXPENSES:

State Farm did not pursue its claim for expenses.

March 18, 2014

Jeffrey Rogers Arbitrator

Date