Financial Services Commission of Ontario
Office of the Director of Arbitrations
Neutral Citation: 2019 ONFSCDRS 14
Appeal P18-00018
SAKINA NAQVI Appellant
and
TD GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY Respondent
BEFORE: Edward Lee
REPRESENTATIVES: Ryan O'Connor for Ms. Naqvi Matthew Dugas for TD General Insurance Company
HEARING DATE: Determined on the record
APPEAL EXPENSES ORDER
Under section 283 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. I.8 as it read immediately before being amended by Schedule 3 to the Fighting Fraud and Reducing Automobile Insurance Rates Act, 2014, and Regulation 664, R.R.O. 1990, as amended, it is ordered that:
- Sakina Naqvi shall pay $750.00 to TD General Insurance Company as legal expenses for the appeal proceeding in this matter, inclusive of all HST, legal fees, and disbursements.
April 8, 2019
Edward Lee Director’s Delegate
REASONS FOR DECISION
This is an assessment of expenses from the appeal proceeding in this matter.
Shakina Naqvi’s (“the Appellant’s”) appeal was dismissed after I determined she had abandoned her appeal. No appeal hearing was ever conducted.
The only relevant factors I need consider in the assessment of these expenses were the degree of success of the parties in the outcome of the proceeding, and whether the “…conduct of the party or the party’s representative tended to prolong, obstruct or hinder the proceeding…”1
In this case, the Appellant filed no more than her original Notice of Appeal. She filed nothing else, apart from several requests for extensions of time. TD General Insurance Company (“the Respondent”) filed a Response to the Appeal and submissions.
Ultimately, I determined this matter had been abandoned by the Appellant and dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
The Respondent was completely successful in its defense. Further, the Appellant’s conduct (in seeking extensions of time and delays and then filing no documents whatsoever) tended to prolong, obstruct, or hinder the proceeding.
Nonetheless, I find the Respondent’s submission of a total of $4,992.40 ($4,251.27 for legal fees, $188.74 for disbursements, and $552.67 for HST) for expenses in this matter to be exaggerated and not commensurate with the effort required in obtaining a dismissal of this matter. In fact, the arguments raised in the Appellant’s Notice of Appeal (the only document she filed) were largely generic and provided little that required reply from the Respondent.
Accordingly, I will allow $750.00 in total.
Shakina Naqvi shall pay to TD General Insurance Company $750.00 as legal expenses for the appeal proceeding in this matter, inclusive of all legal fees, HST, and disbursements.
April 8, 2019
Edward Lee Director’s Delegate