Giorgi Abelashvili v. Belair Insurance Company Inc., 2015 ONFSCDRS 118

Financial Services Commission des Commission services financiers of Ontario de l’Ontario

Neutral Citation: 2015 ONFSCDRS 118

FSCO A13-007183

BETWEEN:

GIORGI ABELASHVILI

Applicant

and

BELAIR INSURANCE COMPANY INC.

Insurer

REASONS FOR DECISION

Before: Deborah Pressman

Heard: May 1, 2015, at the offices of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario in Toronto

Appearances: Mr. Abelashvili not appearing David Carranza for Franklin Law Firm seeking removal from the record Michael Hochberg for Belair Insurance Company Inc.

Issues:

Should Franklin Law Firm be permitted to withdraw as Mr. Abelashvili’s representative?
Should this arbitration be dismissed because Mr. Abelashvili has failed to participate in the process?

Result:

Franklin Law Firm is permitted to withdraw as Mr. Abelashvili’s representative.
This arbitration is dismissed.

EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:

The Applicant, Giorgi Abelashvili, was allegedly injured in a motor vehicle accident on April 9, 2010. He applied for statutory accident benefits from Belair Insurance Company Inc. (“Belair”), payable under the Schedule.¹ Disputes arose between the parties with respect to his entitlement to the benefits. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Mr. Abelashvili applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (“FSCO”) under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended.

A pre-hearing discussion was held on April 16, 2014 (at ADR Chambers). The file was eventually transferred to FSCO and combined with the related file of Ms. Shorena Dghvilava (A13-008812). Ms. Dghvilava, the applicant’s wife, was allegedly injured in the same accident.² In February 2015, Mr. Abelashvili’s representative, David Carranza, requested to bring a motion to withdraw as his representative on behalf of Franklin Law Firm. At the same time, Belair requested to bring a motion to dismiss the arbitration pursuant to Rule 68 of the DRPC.³ Both motions were scheduled to proceed on May 1, 2015 before me.

On February 18, 2015, I wrote to Mr. Abelashvili informing him that his representative was seeking to be removed from the record. I also informed him that Belair was seeking to dismiss his arbitration and if he did not attend the motions his arbitration would likely be dismissed. Mr. Abelashvili did not attend the motions and has not communicated with FSCO or with Franklin Law Firm.

I am satisfied that Mr. Abelashvili was given proper notice of both motions. I am also satisfied that there has been a breakdown in the relationship between Mr. Abelashvili and Franklin Law Firm, justifying its removal from the record as his representative.

Mr. Abelashvili appears to have lost interest in pursuing this arbitration. No evidence having been presented in support of his claims or his interest in pursuing his claims, this arbitration is dismissed.

June 2, 2015

Deborah Pressman Arbitrator

Date