FSCO dismisses benefits arbitration after claimant fails to show up to pre-hearing conferences

Note to claimants: If you are interested in pursuing arbitration after an insurer has denied medical and housekeeping benefits, it’s best to show up to scheduled pre-hearing conferences.
In Sivakumar Thangaraja and Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) dismissed an arbitration as “frivolous, vexatious and commenced in bad faith” after the applicant failed to show up to two scheduled pre-hearing conferences.
Thangarajah was injured in a motor vehicle accident in January 2007. Dominion denied his claims for certain medical and housekeeping benefits.
In June 2009, Albert Wong, then a student-at-law (now a legal counsel) at Zayouna Law Firm, filed an application for arbitration on behalf of his client, Thangarajah.
Thangarajah didn’t show up for the November 2009 pre-hearing conference. Wong said he wasn’t able to contact his client by phone or email and asked for an adjournment. He said if his client failed to attend the re-scheduled hearing, he would consent to the arbitration being dismissed.
Forty-five minutes after the arbitration time of 10 a.m., after Wong and counsel for Dominion had already left, Thangarajah appeared, saying he had gone to the wrong building based on a letter he received from Wong.
The pre-hearing conference was re-scheduled for Jan. 15, 2010. Again, Thangarajah was a no-show.
“Mr. Wong advised that he had spoken to Mr. Thangarajah the night before the pre-hearing resumption, and told him of the legal consequences of not attending the resumption, and that although Mr. Thangarajah was ‘less than thrilled’ about needing to be at the resumption, he said he would be present,” FSCO arbitrator Eban Bayefsky noted in his decision to dismiss the matter. “Mr. Wong advised that Mr. Thangarajah apparently wanted to postpone the resumption to obtain further documentation, but told him that this was not necessary at this stage of the proceeding.”
Bayefsky noted he had sent confirmation of the re-scheduled pre-hearing date and received no return correspondence. Wong advised that his client had moved and that Canada Post was forwarding mail to his new address, which Thangarajah did not provide to the Dispute Resolution Group (as he has a legal obligation to do).