Financial Services Commission des Commission services financiers of Ontario de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2016 ONFSCDRS 111
FSCO A15-002945
BETWEEN:
ZHENBANG GE Applicant
and
TD GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY Insurer
REASONS FOR DECISION
Before: Arbitrator Benjamin Drory
Heard: By teleconference on March 14, 2016
Appearances: Mr. Zhenbang Ge did not participate Mr. Eric Levin participated for TD General Insurance Company
Issues:
The Applicant, Mr. Zhenbang Ge, was injured in a motor vehicle accident on August 8, 2014 and sought accident benefits from TD General Insurance Company (“TD General”), payable under the Schedule.1 The parties were unable to resolve their disputes through mediation, and Mr. Ge, through his representative, applied for arbitration at the Financial Services Commission of Ontario under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8, as amended.
The issues in this Hearing are:
Should Mr. Zhenbang Ge’s Application for Arbitration be dismissed?
Is TD General entitled to its expenses of the proceeding?
Result:
Mr. Zhenbang Ge’s Application for Arbitration is dismissed.
TD General has requested expenses in the amount of $500.00 in this matter. Mr. Zhenbang Ge is invited to submit a written submission to me respecting expenses in response, within 30 days of the date of this decision.
EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS:
Chronology
A Pre-Hearing discussion in this case was held at the offices of ADR Chambers on November 26, 2015 at 11:30 a.m., at which Mr. Ge failed to appear.
On that same day, I sent a letter to Mr. Ge at his last known address to advise him of the missed Pre-Hearing discussion. The letter provided Mr. Ge with an Attendance Notice, setting a date of March 14, 2016, starting at 10:00 a.m., to hear the issues identified in the Application for Arbitration. The letter also advised him that should he not contact our office or participate in any further proceedings, I might dismiss his application and consider TD General’s request for expenses.
On January 8, 2016, Ms. Tanya Annarilli of Bergel, Magence LLP submitted a Motion, requesting that she and her firm be removed from the record as counsel to Mr. Ge, citing a breakdown in the solicitor-client relationship. I granted that Motion on January 12, 2016, ordering that Bergel, Magence LLP be removed from the record as Mr. Ge’s legal representative, and to consider Mr. Ge unrepresented. I sent Mr. Ge an additional letter that day advising of such, and specifically reminding him of the Hearing scheduled for March 14, 2016.
The Dismissal
For the reasons that follow, Mr. Ge’s Application for Arbitration is dismissed.
Mr. Ge did not participate in the teleconference on March 14, 2016. I called his last known number in the Financial Services Commission of Ontario’s registration database five times between 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. It became clear that his last-known number is no longer in service.
I am satisfied that Mr. Ge was given notice of all of the proceedings related to his Arbitration at his last known address.
Pursuant to Rule 37.7 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code, the Arbitration Hearing proceeded in his absence.
Mr. Ge bears the onus of proving entitlement to the claimed benefits. Since he did not appear at the Hearing and no evidence was presented to support his claims, this Arbitration is dismissed.
EXPENSES:
Upon my advising verbally that the matter was to be dismissed, TD General requested expenses of $500.00 respecting the matter.
Mr. Ge is invited to submit a written submission in response to my attention, via ADR Chambers, within 30 days of the date of this Order, respecting what (if any) he believes would be an appropriate award of expenses in this matter, pursuant to Rule 75 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.
April 11, 2016
Benjamin Drory Arbitrator
Date
Financial Services Commission des Commission services financiers of Ontario de l’Ontario
Neutral Citation: 2016 ONFSCDRS 111
FSCO A15-002945
BETWEEN:
ZHENGANG GE Applicant
and
TD GENERAL 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:
Mr. Zhenbang Ge’s Application for Arbitration is dismissed.
TD General has requested expenses in the amount of $500.00 in this matter. Mr. Zhenbang Ge is invited to submit a written submission to me respecting expenses in response, within 30 days of the date of this decision.
April 11, 2016
Benjamin Drory Arbitrator
Date
Footnotes
- The Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule - Effective September 1, 2010, Ontario Regulation 34/10, as amended.