In Melo v. Northbridge Personal Insurance Corporation, Justice Croll, writing for The Divisional Court, confirmed that pursuant to s. 11(6) of the License Appeal Tribunal Act, an appeal from a decision of the Tribunal relating to a matter under the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. I.8 may be made on a question of law only. Justice Croll further indicated that the standard of review to be applied is reasonableness.
The Appellant was involved in a motor vehicle accident on August 28, 2015. He applied for statutory accident benefits from his own insurance company, Northbridge Personal Insurance Corporation. The Adjudicator found that the Appellant was not entitled to income replacement benefits in the amount of $389.11 per week from January 28, 2016 to the date of his decision.
Justice Croll indicated that the Adjudicator cited the correct legal test to prove entitlement to an income replacement benefit, and correctly identified and conducted the comparative exercise that section 5(1) of the Schedule requires. The Adjudicator weighed the evidence, applied the proper stand of proof, and provided reasons for his findings, which were all ground in the material before him. Justice Croll indicated that the Adjudicator’s exercise of weighing the evidence and preferring some evidence over other evidence does not amount to a question of law only. Justice Croll stated that the Appellant failed to establish an error of law and that the Adjudicator’s decision was reasonable as it was within the range of possible outcomes.
See : Melo v. Northbridge Personal Insurance Corporation , 2017 ONSC 5885 (CanLII)
