Tobin Horton

The plaintiff brought an action for damages arising from a motor vehicle incident where he abruptly stopped to avoid downed guy wires caused by the defendants' snow plow.

The plaintiff claimed to have suffered electrocution and permanent, debilitating headaches.

The court found the plaintiff's evidence unreliable and uncorroborated, concluding he suffered only soft tissue injuries that resolved within two years.

The defendants' motion to dismiss the non-pecuniary claims for failing to meet the statutory threshold under the Insurance Act was granted.

The claims for past and future income loss were also dismissed as the plaintiff had been fully compensated by prior benefits.

The Plaintiffs brought a motion for leave to bring the motion and an order to strike the Defendants' jury notice, seeking to proceed with a judge-alone trial due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Defendants opposed, arguing their right to a jury trial is substantive and it was premature to strike the notice.

The court granted the Plaintiffs' motion, finding that the pandemic constituted a substantial and unexpected change of circumstances, and that the indeterminate delay in securing a jury trial date prejudiced the Plaintiffs, particularly regarding their income loss claim under the Insurance Act.

The court emphasized the need for timely and affordable access to justice, especially during the unprecedented crisis facing the civil justice system.

Following an arbitration decision where the applicant was partially successful in claiming statutory accident benefits, both parties sought their expenses of the proceeding.

The arbitrator found that the applicant was entitled to her expenses because she was partially successful and reasonably proceeded to a hearing to preserve her claim for future medical benefits, despite the insurer's offer to settle.

The insurer was ordered to pay the applicant's expenses of the arbitration and the expense hearing, fixed at $8,764.14 plus HST.