Nwokomah v. Galle, 2017 ONSC 6880 (CanLII)
Court refuses plaintiff’s motion seeking to inform the jury about the statutory deductible which applies to general damages awards.
Date Heard: November 20, 2017 | Full Decision [PDF]
Justice McSweeney dismissed the plaintiff’s motion seeking a decision before trial of the meaning of the phrase “without regard to” in s. 267.5(7)(1) of the Insurance Act, and for an order binding the trial judge to inform the jury about the deductibles which apply to general damages awards in actions arising from motor vehicle accidents.
The motion was brought pursuant to rule 21 and 22 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 21 provides for the determination before trial of a question of law raised by a pleading, the resolution of which may narrow or shorten the issues at, or length of, a trial. Rule 22 permits a question to be put to the court for determination as a “special case” where both parties concur.
Her Honour dismissed the motion indicating the court did not have jurisdiction to entertain the motion as framed:
[8] Specifically, the motion is not properly constituted under Rule 21 as the issue of the jury’s knowledge of deductibles is not a matter of law, contained in the pleadings, the resolution of which would dispose of all or part of the action, substantially shorten the trial or result in substantial cost savings for the parties or the public. [9] Likewise, the motion is not properly constituted under Rule 22. There is no agreement between the parties as to a stated case or question to be posed to the Court. Further, that question, even if agreed upon as suggested by the Plaintiff, would not dispose of all or part of the action, substantially shorten the trial or result in substantial cost savings for the parties or the public.
Read the full decision [PDF]