The Estate of Jackie Cray brought a motion to dismiss an application by Sofie Vaux-Lacelle, who sought a declaration that she was the deceased's common-law spouse for OMERS pension survivor benefits.
The Estate argued that the internal OMERS Dispute Resolution Process was a more suitable forum.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that while the OMERS process was a valid avenue, the Superior Court application was also appropriate given the factual complexity, credibility issues, significant value of the benefit, and greater flexibility for settlement and witness accommodation in court proceedings.
