Riley Groskopf

The plaintiffs brought a motion for leave to amend their statement of claim to add the statutory third party insurer as a defendant and to seek declaratory relief regarding coverage.

The insurer opposed the motion, arguing it would cause prejudice, was untenable in law, and constituted an abuse of process that would eviscerate an insurer's statutory right to defend claims.

The court rejected these arguments, finding no non-compensable prejudice, that the declaratory relief sought had practical utility, and that the proposed amendments did not constitute an abuse of process.

The motion was granted, and the plaintiffs were awarded partial indemnity costs.

The appellant sought judicial review and appealed a decision of the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT) which found her accident benefits claim statute-barred.

The Divisional Court dismissed both, stating judicial review was only available in "exceptional circumstances" given the statutory appeal right.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the further appeal, clarifying that while judicial review is always available, it is a discretionary remedy and will only be exercised in rare cases where alternative remedies (like reconsideration and statutory appeal) are inadequate.

The Court affirmed the LAT's finding on the limitation period as reasonable and provided guidance on handling concurrent appeal and judicial review proceedings.