Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario Licence Appeal Tribunal Automobile Accident Benefits Service Mailing Address: 77 Wellesley St. W., Box 250, Toronto ON M7A 1N3 In-Person Service: 20 Dundas St. W., Suite 530, Toronto ON M5G 2C2 Tel.: 416-314-4260 1-800-255-2214 TTY: 416-916-0548 1-844-403-5906 Fax: 416-325-1060 1-844-618-2566 Website: www.slasto.gov.on.ca/en/AABS
Tribunaux de la sécurité, des appels en matière de permis et des normes Ontario Tribunal d'appel en matière de permis Service d'aide relative aux indemnités d'accident automobile Adresse postale : 77, rue Wellesley Ouest, Boîte no 250, Toronto ON M7A 1N3 Adresse municipale : 20, rue Dundas Ouest, Bureau 530, Toronto ON M5G 2C2 Tél. : 416 314-4260 1 800 255-2214 ATS : 416 916-0548 1 844 403-5906 Téléc. : 416 325-1060 1 844 618-2566 Site Web : www.slasto.gov.on.ca/fr/AABS
RECONSIDERATION DECISION
Before: Linda P. Lamoureux, Executive Chair
File: 17-000370/AABS
Case Name: 17-000370 v. Aviva General Insurance Company
Written Submissions By:
For the Applicant: Thomas Su
For the Respondent: Michelle T. Friedman
Overview
- This matter involves an application for dispute resolution under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule – Effective after September 1, 20101 (the “Schedule”). That application is scheduled for hearing on June 15, 2017. On March 21, 2017, the applicant requested that the hearing be adjourned. That request was denied. The applicant asks me to reconsider the Tribunal’s decision. For the reasons that follow, I deny her request.
The Facts
The applicant, C.E.T., filed an application with the Tribunal on January 19, 2017. In that application, she claims entitlement to a number of benefits under the Schedule from the respondent, Aviva General Insurance Company (“Aviva”).
As it does with all applications, the Tribunal held a case conference in this matter to allow the parties to discuss, among other things, settlement and hearing procedure. That case conference was initially scheduled for March 21, 2017. However, at C.E.T.’s request, and based on Aviva’s consent, the matter was rescheduled for March 29, 2017.
As a result of that case conference, the Tribunal issued an order on April 26, 2017. The order identified 20 issues in dispute requiring determination, and scheduled the application for a hybrid hearing for June 15, 2017. The in-person hearing will deal with one issue, while the hearing in writing will deal the remaining issues. The order also outlined a schedule for the parties’ exchange of written submissions and evidence: it required C.E.T. to serve and file her materials by May 11, 2017, Aviva to serve and file its responding submissions by May 25, 2017, and C.E.T. to serve and file any reply submissions by June 8, 2017. Lastly, the order required C.E.T. to produce several documents by May 1, 2017.
According to Aviva, the May 1, 2017 production deadline came and went. On May 2, 2017, C.E.T. apparently provided Aviva with only a small portion of the documents that C.E.T. was required to produce. The balance, Aviva asserts, remains outstanding.
By order dated May 10, 2017, the Tribunal amended the case conference order, based on the parties’ consent, to delete one of the issues scheduled to be determined at the written hearing.
That same day – one day before C.E.T.’s written submissions and evidence were due to be served and filed – C.E.T.’s counsel wrote to the Tribunal requesting an adjournment. Counsel explained that C.E.T. had received a notice of examination from Aviva dated April 13, 2017, scheduling C.E.T. for two examinations, one on April 27, 2017 and the other on May 2, 2017. Counsel asserted that these examinations “will address medical benefits, which are one of the issues in dispute.” For this reason, she asked that the June 15 hearing date be adjourned to allow C.E.T. to have the benefit of any information arising from these examinations. Aviva did not consent to this adjournment, explaining that these examinations “pertain to newly submitted Treatment and Assessment Plans and not to the med/rehab issues currently in dispute.”
On May 11, 2017, the Tribunal denied the adjournment request.
That same day, C.E.T. was required to serve and file her hearing materials. She did not. Instead, the following day she requested that the Tribunal’s refusal of the adjournment be reconsidered. To date, she still has not filed any hearing submissions.
In support of her request for reconsideration, C.E.T.’s counsel asserts that the examinations on April 27 and May 2, 2017 addressed the issues in dispute, the related assessment reports have not been finalized, these reports are “material evidence” for the hearing, and that CET “should be allowed to have full access to evidence and present her case fully and fairly.” The adjournment’s denial, she argues, was a breach of natural justice and procedural fairness.
Discussion and Reasons
The basis for C.E.T.’s request for an adjournment and this request for reconsideration is the same: in essence, new information arising from the examinations on April 27 and May 2, 2017 are relevant to the issues in dispute and, thus, C.E.T. wants this information in order to present her case to the fullest extent possible.
She now has that information. Aviva scheduled the examinations in response to four Treatment and Assessment Plans that it received on C.E.T.’s behalf.2 None of those Treatment and Assessment Plans is included in the Tribunal’s April 26, 2017 case conference order outlining the issues in dispute. Nevertheless, the examinations have now taken place and the findings arising from them are outlined in a Multidisciplinary Report dated May 15, 2017.3 By letter dated May 26, 2017, Aviva sent that Report to the C.E.T. and her counsel.
The matter should therefore proceed.
Conclusion
- The request for reconsideration is denied.
Linda P. Lamoureux
Executive Chair
Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario
Released: June 9, 2017
Footnotes
- O. Reg. 34/10.
- See Tabs 15 and 16 of the Aviva’s Reconsideration Response Submissions.
- See Tab 18 of the Aviva’s Reconsideration Response Submissions.