Court File and Parties

COURT FILE NO.: CV-21-0025-00ES

DATE: 20211122

SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO

RE: Jane Anne Grange, Applicant

AND:

The Canada Life Assurance Company, Respondent

BEFORE: Mr. Justice Graeme Mew

COUNSEL: Kurt R. Pearson, for the Applicant

Paul Bundgard, for the Respondent

HEARD: In Writing

ENDORSEMENT

[1] This is an application under s. 2(5) of the Declarations of Death Act, S.O. 2002, c. 14. William Grange was a well-known former lawyer in, and resident of, Napanee. On 2 May 2014, Mr. Grange disappeared while on holiday in Bermuda with his wife, Jane Anne Grange, who is the applicant in this proceeding. He has not been seen or heard of since.

[2] A report from the Bermuda Police Service provides a comprehensive summary of their investigation. Despite extensive attempts to locate Mr. Grange, no leads were ever forthcoming. On 1 July 2014, the authorities ceased their active search and listed Mr. Grange as missing.

[3] Mrs. Grange is unable to administer her husband’s estate without a declaration of death. Nor has she been able to establish entitlement to life insurance benefits provided by the respondent, which requires delivery of a death certificate or a court order.

[4] Accordingly, the applicant now brings this application under s. 2(5) of the Declarations of Death Act, as an interested person, to obtain an order declaring that William A. Grange is deceased, as of 6 October 2021 (the date on which this application was brought).

[5] The respondent, The Canada Life Assurance Company, does not oppose the application.

[6] A concise summary of what an applicant has to establish before the court can make a declaration of death under s. 2(5) of the Declarations of Death Act is provided in Mezo (Re), 2010 ONSC 4968, at para. 22, which, applied to this application, places the onus on the applicant to establish, on a balance of probabilities, that:

a. Mr. Grange has been absent for at least seven years;

b. Jane Grange has not heard of or from William Grange during the seven-year period;

c. To Jane Grange’s knowledge, after making reasonable inquiries, no other person has heard of or from William Grange during the seven-year period;

d. Jane Grange has no reason to believe that William Grange is alive; and

e. There is sufficient evidence to find that William Grange is dead.

[7] The other basis upon which a court may declare an individual has died is where the individual has disappeared “in circumstances of peril”: Declarations of Death Act, s. 2(4). This is not applicable to the facts of this case.

Background Facts

[8] The applicant married William Grange in Napanee on 28 June 1969. They are the parents of two adult children.

[9] Mr. Grange made a will in October 1995, appointing the applicant as Executrix and Trustee, and directing that the residue of his estate be transferred to the applicant if she survives Mr. Grange for a period of at least 30 days, failing which the residue is to be transferred to his children in equal share per stirpes.

[10] Mr. Grange practised as a lawyer in Napanee for over 28 years, until June 2002, at which time he retired due to medical issues which arose following an episode of cerebral vasculitis, which resulted in impaired memory faculties. Additionally, Mr. Grange was diagnosed with cataplexy, which involves the loss of muscle tone, weakness, and a loss of voluntary muscle control. Mr. Grange’s driver’s licence was revoked in 2002 and never restored.

[11] Subsequently, Mr. Grange suffered seizure episodes, the most recent of which occurred in May 2013. By that time, Ms. Grange recognised that her husband’s cognitive abilities continued to deteriorate. He was having more difficulties at the time organising and planning daily activities.

[12] On 1 May 2014, the Granges travelled to Bermuda to commence a 10 day stay at the Cambridge Beaches Resort and Spa in Sandy’s Parish. In the months prior to the trip to Bermuda, the applicant says that Mr. Grange had been doing reasonably well from a medical perspective. However, there had been one incident in the winter of 2013-14 when he had wandered off from their house in Napanee, and was later located by local police in a shed in their backyard. At the time of the Bermuda trip, Mr. Grange was also waiting for an appointment for a neuropsychiatric consultation at the Acquired Brain Injury Clinic at Kingston General Hospital.

Mr. Grange Disappears

[13] On 2 May 2014, the applicant and her husband spent the day exploring the island. They had dinner at their hotel. At approximately 10:30 p.m., Mr. Grange told his wife that he was going out for a walk. She did not expect him to be gone for longer than ten minutes. When he did not return, and she did not find him, Ms. Grange immediately reported her husband missing. The police were contacted at approximately 10:40 p.m. on 2 May 2014.

[14] Mr. Grange’s clothes and important travel documents, including his passport, were in his hotel room. However, he had his wallet and mobile phone on his person. The wallet contained personal identification and a MasterCard.

[15] Despite extensive efforts made through Mr. Grange’s mobile service provider to locate the phone or to determine whether it was ever subsequently utilised, no trace of the phone or its use, following Mr. Grange’s disappearance, was identified. The MasterCard was never used either.

[16] The Bermuda Police Service immediately commenced a missing person investigation. An extensive island-wide search was conducted and a robust media appeal for assistance was placed for any information about Mr. Grange’s last movements and whereabouts. The resort that the Granges were staying at is surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean. Police therefore also conducted a comprehensive marine search, involving members of the police, the Bermuda Regiment, and hundreds of civilian volunteers. In addition, Grange family members, including the applicant, assisted in the search. The family remained in Bermuda to assist the search for over 35 days, and the search by civilian volunteers continued for a further three weeks thereafter.

[17] Despite the immediate and comprehensive search by the authorities and civilian volunteers, Mr. Grange’s body has never been located and no leads have ever come forward.

[18] Importantly, police investigation of Mr. Grange’s disappearance raised no suspicious circumstances. On 1 July 2014, the Bermuda Police Service ceased the active search for Mr. Grange, who was listed as missing. The case has remained “open undetected”.

Disposition

[19] Mr. Grange had no apparent motive to disappear. He had no known enemies or hidden or concealed vices. He had no significant debts or liabilities. The mortgage on the Granges’ house was paid off decades ago. Furthermore, Mr. Grange had a very close relationship with his sons and daughters-in-law. There had never been any estrangement between Mr. Grange and the applicant, or his sons. There is no reason why Mr. Grange would break off contact with his family.

[20] The requirement for an applicant to make “reasonable inquiries” includes a thorough police investigation, public notification of the search and extensive news coverage of the disappearance: Poole v. Poole (2008), 41 E.T.R. (3d) 223, 65 C.C.L.I. (4th) 283 (Ont. S.C.J.), Wasylyk v. Wasylyk (2012), ONSC 7029. All of those elements are present in this case.

[21] Accordingly, I am satisfied that the applicant has made reasonable inquiries in accordance with s. 2(5)(c) of the Act, to ensure that no other person has heard of or from Mr. Grange during the seven year period.

[22] There is, further, ample evidence to establish that Mr. Grange is deceased. He left behind important pieces of identification. No attempt has been made to access his bank account or other financial assets.

[23] In the circumstances, the applicant has met the burden of establishing that the requirements of s. 2(5) of the Act have been met. An Order will therefore go, declaring William Alexander Grange deceased as of 6 October 2021. It is further ordered and declared that the applicant is the primary beneficiary of William A. Grange’s life insurance benefits under the respondent’s policy.

[24] No order is made as to costs.

[25] Judgment shall go in accordance with the draft provided by counsel.

Mew J.

Date: 22 November 2021