RECONSIDERATION ORDER
Before: D. Stephen Jovanovic, Associate Chair
Tribunal File Number: 18-010779/AABS
Case Name: G. R. v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company
Written Submissions by:
For the Applicant: Sonia S. Fabiani
For the Respondent: Catherine Shearer
ORDER
1The respondent filed a request for reconsideration in respect of a decision dated November 28, 2019 following a motion to decide a preliminary issue as to whether the applicant was involved in an “accident” as defined in the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule –Effective September 1, 2010, O. Reg. 34/10, as amended (the Schedule).
2The applicant had been cleaning his parked vehicle of accumulated snow when he fell, injuring himself, either because of the snow and/or ice on the ground around his vehicle. The adjudicator decided that the circumstances surrounding the fall did constitute an accident as set out in the Schedule and ordered that a case conference be scheduled to “address the substantive issues in dispute.”
3On February 7, 2019, the Licence Appeal Tribunal, Animal Care Review Board, and Fire Safety Commission Common Rules of Practice and Procedure, Version I (October 2, 2017) were amended. Pursuant to the amended Rule 18.1, requests for reconsideration will only be accepted on Tribunal decisions that finally dispose of an “appeal.” Pursuant to Rule 18.5, this change applies if the request for reconsideration relates to a decision or order issued on or after February 7, 2019.
4Under Rule 2.1, an “appeal” is defined as including “any application, appeal, or claim before the LAT…” The difficulty the respondent faces with its request or reconsideration is that the decision of the adjudicator does not appear to “finally dispose of an appeal”, even on the liberal interpretation the Tribunal has recently adopted on Rule 18.1. The decision as to whether an “accident” occurred, while fundamental to the applicant’s claim for accident benefits, is simply one step in the determination of that claim. The applicant may or may not be entitled to any benefits.
5For a recent example of a case dismissing a reconsideration request as the underlying decision did not finally dispose of an appeal, see [LM] v. The Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2021 CanLII 28676 (ON LAT). I need not rely on this decision as, in my view, the Rule is clear, but I provide it for informational purposes.
6Accordingly, the request for reconsideration is dismissed and the order of the adjudicator directing a case conference is confirmed.
D. Stephen Jovanovic Associate Chair Licence Appeal Tribunal Tribunals Ontario
Released: April 20, 2021