Financial Services Commission des
Commission services financiers
of Ontario de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2015 ONFSCDRS 21
FSCO A12-005362
BETWEEN:
JENNIFER OLDHAM
Applicant
and
JEVCO INSURANCE COMPANY
Insurer
REASONS FOR DECISION
Before: Rosemary Muzzi
Heard: January 30, 2015
Appearances: No one appearing for Ms. Oldham
Marlett Dobson for Jevco Insurance Company
Issues:
The Applicant, Jennifer Oldham, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on April 11, 2010. She applied for statutory accident benefits from Jevco Insurance Company (“Jevco”), payable under the Schedule.1 Jevco refused to pay benefits. The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Ms. Oldham applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, as amended.
Since filing her application for arbitration dated August 28, 2012, Ms. Oldham has never appeared at the Commission. Three pre-hearing dates were set but she did not attend any of those proceedings nor did she appear today for her arbitration hearing. As a result, based on her failure to pursue it, Jevco requested that Ms. Oldham’s application for arbitration be dismissed in its entirety.
The issues in this hearing are:
- Should Ms. Oldham’s application for arbitration be dismissed?
Result:
- Ms. Oldham’s application for arbitration is dismissed.
EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:
This matter was set down three times for pre-hearing discussion yet Ms. Oldham never appeared. The first pre-hearing was to have occurred on March 27, 2013 but Ms. Oldham’s counsel of record advised on March 25, 2013 that she was in hospital so the proceeding was adjourned on consent. On the second pre-hearing date, November 5, 2013, counsel of record advised that they had been unable to contact Ms. Oldham, so a third date was set. At the final pre-hearing date of November 13, 2014, counsel of record advised that they had not been able to locate Ms. Oldham for some time and therefore had no instructions on how to proceed. Counsel advised they would request an order removing them as counsel of record. Jevco submitted that the matter should be set down for hearing.
Counsel off Record
On November 19, 2014, a few days following the third pre-hearing date, the Commission received a formal written request from Tkatch and Associates to be removed as Ms. Oldham’s counsel of record on the basis of an irreparable breakdown in communication. Counsel’s request complied with Rule 9 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code and was delivered to Ms. Oldham at her last known address.
In the absence of any submissions from Ms. Oldham, though properly notified, and with no objection from Jevco, I order that Tkatch and Associates is removed as counsel of record for Ms. Oldham.
Dismissal of Application for Arbitration
This arbitration hearing date was set following three separate attempts to complete a pre-hearing. Ms. Oldham did not appear for any of the pre-hearing dates and did not otherwise make contact with the Commission. She has taken no steps to pursue this application for arbitration since the application was signed in August 2012.
In these circumstances, I order that the application for arbitration is dismissed.
EXPENSES:
There is no order for expenses as Jevco indicated it was not seeking its expenses.
February 5, 2015
Rosemary Muzzi
Arbitrator
Date
Financial Services Commission des
Commission services financiers
of Ontario de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2015 ONFSCDRS 21
FSCO A12-005362
BETWEEN:
JENNIFER OLDHAM
Applicant
and
JEVCO 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 application for arbitration is dismissed.
February 5, 2015
Rosemary Muzzi
Arbitrator
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule — Accidents on or after November 1, 1996, Ontario Regulation 403/96, as amended.