8148 v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 2013 CanLII 41666

Licence Tribunal

Appeal d'appel en

Tribunal matière de permis

DATE:

2013-07-08

FILE:

8148/MVIA

CASE NAME:

8148 v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles

Appeal under Section 50.2 of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8 from an Impoundment Pursuant to Section 55.1(3) of the Act.

Applicant

Applicant

-and-

Registrar of Motor Vehicles

Respondent

REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER

ADJUDICATOR:

ANTOINE AOUAD, M.D., Member

APPEARANCES:

For the Applicant:

Self-represented

For the Respondent:

Victoria Sim, Agent

Heard in Toronto:

July 2, 2013

REASONS FOR DECISION

A hearing was held on July 2, 2013, to consider the Applicant’s appeal pursuant to section 50.2 of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O., 1990, c. H.8 (the “HTA” or the “Act”).

Pursuant to section 50.2 (5,) the Tribunal CONFIRMS THE IMPOUNDMENT. As a result, the Applicant’s motor vehicle will remain detained at the impound facility for 45 days.

BACKGROUND

A motor vehicle was impounded pursuant to section 55.1 of the Act and the impoundment was appealed by the owner. The owner, motor vehicle, and date of appeal in this matter are as follows:

Owner: The Applicant

Motor Vehicle: 2007 MAZD M3I (the “vehicle”)

Date of Appeal: June 12, 2013

As a preliminary matter, the Applicant sought to introduce into evidence:

• copy of an Order under Section 69 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

• copy of Record of Employment, dated May 22, 2013

• copy of Apprentice Certificate from the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities

The Registrar’s Agent did not object; the documents were entered as Exhibit # 4.

All other documents were entered into evidence as exhibits with the consent of both parties.

ISSUES

As set out in the Applicant’s request for hearing (Exhibit #1), the owner appeals on the basis that the loss of the vehicle will result in exceptional hardship, as provided in section 50.2(3)(d) of the Act.

Should the Tribunal order the Registrar to release the motor vehicle on the basis that the impoundment will result in exceptional hardship?

FACTS

Evidence for the Applicant

A summary of the Applicant’s evidence follows.

The Applicant’s written submission filed with the Tribunal in support of the appeal was entered as Exhibit #1. In the Notice of Appeal, the Applicant pleads for the return of the vehicle on the ground that without the impounded vehicle the Applicant will not be able to complete the required hours to obtain her hairdressing certificate. The Applicant explains that her present work location is a two-hour public transit ride from home, and that she is afraid to go home alone at night. Also, the Applicant states that she will be unable to cover the impoundment fees.

The Applicant attached copies of 2011 and 2012 Tax Assessment forms to the Notice of Appeal.

At the hearing, the Applicant reiterated the statement in the Notice of Appeal; emphasizing she is suffering extreme hardship as she lost her job in April, and has had difficulties with her lease.

The Applicant attested that she has been informed of the total cost of the impoundment fees and pointed out that she does not have the income to cover the cost.

In cross-examination, the Applicant testified that she lives at Runnymede and Bloor and works at Warden and Highway 7, which requires a 2-hour public transit commute.

With respect to medical appointments, the Applicant stated that she has had to postpone a doctor’s appointment.

The Applicant explained that the other car registered to her name is not drivable at the present time; and that her only alternative is public transit as she is unable to drive her mother’s car.

Evidence for the Registrar

A summary of the Registrar’s evidence follows.

The documents tendered by the Registrar and admitted into the record on consent of the Applicant were as follows:

1. Copy of the Ministry of Transportation records indicating that, among other things, the impounded motor vehicle is registered in the name of the Applicant as owner;

2. A copy of the notice prepared by the officer who detained the impounded motor vehicle indicating, among other things, that the vehicle at the time it was detained was being driven by the person convicted of the offence under the Criminal Code of Canada outlined in point 4 below;

3. Copy of the Notice forwarded to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles regarding the impoundment;

4. Copy of the Ministry of Transportation records indicating that the driver at the time of impoundment had been convicted of Blood/Alcohol Content in Excess Of .08 under the Criminal Code of Canada pursuant to which the driver’s licence of the driver was then under suspension until January 31, 2014.

The Registrar did not call any witnesses.

LAW

Section 55.1 of the Act provides that a motor vehicle may be detained and impounded, and section 50.2 provides the motor vehicle owner’s right of appeal to the Tribunal. The Tribunal on the appeal may, pursuant to subsection 50.2(5) of the Act, confirm the impoundment or order the Registrar to release the motor vehicle. Pursuant to subsection 50.2(8), the decision of the Tribunal is, final and binding.

Subsection 55.1(3) of the Act states:

(3) A motor vehicle detained under subsection (1) shall be impounded as follows:

1. For 45 days, if there has not been any previous impoundment under this section, within a prescribed period, with respect to any motor vehicle then owned by the owner of the vehicle currently being impounded.

2. For 90 days, if there has been one previous impoundment under this section, within a prescribed period, with respect to any motor vehicle then owned by the owner of the vehicle currently being impounded.

3. For 180 days, if there have been two or more previous impoundments under this section, within a prescribed period, with respect to any motor vehicle then owned by the owner of the vehicle currently being impounded.

Regulation 631/98 provides that the prescribed period, referred to above, is two years.

The owner may appeal the impoundment on only four specific grounds set out in subsection 50.2(3):

(3) The only grounds on which an owner may appeal under subsection (1) and the only grounds on which the Tribunal may order the Registrar to release the motor vehicle are,

(a) that the motor vehicle that is impounded was stolen at the time it was detained in order to be impounded;

(b) that the driver’s licence of the driver of the motor vehicle at the time it was detained in order to be impounded was not then under suspension;

(c) that the owner of the motor vehicle exercised due diligence in attempting to determine that the driver’s licence of the driver of the motor vehicle at the time it was detained in order to be impounded was not then under suspension; or

(d) that the impoundment will result in exceptional hardship.

The Applicant here appeals on the basis of section 50.2(3)(d).

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. defines “exceptional hardship” as follows:

Exceptional: Of the nature of or forming an exception; unusual.

Hardship: 1. The quality of being hard to bear; hardness; severity. 2. Hardness of fate or circumstance; severe toil or suffering; extreme privation.

Also, where the owner appeals on the ground of exceptional hardship, subsection 50.2(4) provides:

(4) Clause (3) (d) does not apply if there was a previous impoundment under section 55.1 with respect to any motor vehicle then owned by the same owner.

Section 10 of O. Reg. 631/98 provides the criteria to be considered and those not to be considered in determining the appeal under this section. First, the Tribunal must consider whether no alternative exists for the impounded vehicle and if there is no alternative, then whether the impoundment will result in a threat to the health or safety of any person ordinarily transported by the motor vehicle or a threat to public health and safety or to the environment or property of a community in whose service the vehicle is ordinarily used.

Second, the section provides that the Tribunal may not, except in certain circumstances, consider certain factors:

• inconvenience to any person, financial or economic loss to any person,
• loss of employment or employment opportunity to any person, or
• loss of education or training.

These factors may be considered if the owner demonstrates that

• there is no alternative to the vehicle available,
• the loss will be immediate, significant and lasting,
• the impact will be on a person ordinarily transported by the vehicle and
• the impact of the loss will be on someone other than the suspended driver and will not be the result of a loss by the suspended driver of the type described above.

All elements of the grounds of appeal must be proven on the balance of probabilities by the owner of the vehicle.

APPLICATION OF LAW TO FACTS

In closing, the Applicant requested that the Tribunal lower the cost of the impoundment.

The Registrar’s Agent submitted that the vehicle was impounded correctly, and that exceptional hardship, as defined by the Regulation, was not met.

The Registrar’s Agent pointed out that the criteria in section 50.2(3)(d) of the Act is very specific and the criteria is not met as the Applicant has an alternative to the impounded vehicle; she has not missed work as she has been able to use the TTC

With respect to impoundment fees, the Applicant, according to the Registrar’s Agent, may recover costs from the suspended driver.

The onus is on the Applicant to establish exceptional hardship, as the ground of appeal, as provided in section 50.2(3)(d) of the Act.

Section 10 of Regulation 631/98 provides the criteria to be considered and those not to be considered in determining the appeal under this section, as follows:

10. (1) In determining whether exceptional hardship will result from an order to impound under section 55.1 of the Act, the Tribunal shall consider whether no alternative to the impounded motor vehicle is available…

Only if no alternative exists does the Regulation permit the Tribunal to proceed to consider other enumerated factors.

It is clear from the evidence that an alternative mode of transportation is available to the Applicant. Albeit inconvenient, the Applicant has been able to use public transit to and from work.

Thus, having found that an alternative to the impounded vehicle does exist, the Tribunal may not consider loss of income.

However, the Tribunal does note that the Applicant’s precarious financial situation is pre-existing and since the Applicant has had not missed any days of work there are no losses that can be considered immediate, significant and long lasting in any event.

The Tribunal cannot assess exceptional hardship based on the cost of impoundment as the legislation provides options for the recovery of losses from the suspended driver. Further, the Tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to reduce the impoundment costs as requested by the Applicant.

As such, the Tribunal finds that the criteria of Section 10 (1) of the Ontario Regulation 631/98 are not met.

DECISION

After considering the evidence, pursuant to the authority vested in the Tribunal under section 50.2(5) of the Act, the Tribunal confirms the impoundment of the Applicant’s motor vehicle, and it will remain at the impound facility for 45 days.

LICENCE APPEAL TRIBUNAL

Antoine Aouad, M.D., Presiding Member

RELEASED: July 08, 2013