Intact Insurance must pay $4,182.41 in costs after an Ontario judge dismissed its bid to compel records in a Statutory Accident Benefits dispute.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice released the decision in Intact Insurance Company v. Ronda Crevits, 2026 ONSC 2801 on May 13, 2026.
The dispute traces back to a motor vehicle accident on December 6, 2018. After Intact denied Ronda Crevits additional Statutory Automobile Accident benefits, she filed an application with the License Appeal Tribunal on May 1, 2025. A hearing was scheduled to begin March 23, 2026.
At a Case Conference on August 21, 2025, the parties agreed that various non-parties would produce hospital, medical, treatment, pharmacy, financial, police and employment records within thirty days.
When those records did not come in, Intact returned to the Tribunal on November 12, 2025, asking for another production order. The LAT refused, calling the request "duplicative and redundant."
Rather than wait for the hearing, Intact filed an application in the Superior Court on January 14, 2026, asking the court to compel the same records. Counsel for Intact argued the records were needed in adequate time to review so as not to be prejudiced.
Justice G. Dow was not persuaded. He agreed with the Tribunal's earlier reasoning that the existing production order remained in force and that any non-compliance was a matter for the hearing adjudicator, who could draw an adverse inference or give late-produced evidence less weight.
The court also pointed to Section 280 of the Insurance Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.I.8, which gives the License Appeal Tribunal exclusive jurisdiction over disputes about Statutory Automobile Accident Benefits. Justice Dow cited a line of authority on the point, including Stegenga v. Economical Mutual Insurance Company, 2019 ONCA 615; Aviva Insurance Company of Canada v. Danay Suarez, 2021 ONSC 6200; Yang v. Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2022 ONCA 178; and Singh v. Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company, 2022 ONSC 3361.
The application was dismissed.
On costs, Intact did not file a Costs Outline because it was not seeking costs. The respondent's Costs Outline claimed partial indemnity fees of $2,788.28, rising to $4,182.41 at substantial indemnity rates, both inclusive of HST.
Justice Dow awarded the higher amount. Citing the repeated authorities showing the application was inappropriate, the discretion under Section 131 of the Courts of Justice Act, and the reasonable time and hourly rates claimed, he ordered Intact to pay $4,182.41 to Crevits, payable forthwith.
The hearing took place on February 13, 2026. Justice Dow noted that he had drafted the reasons immediately after the hearing but had misplaced them, and apologized for the delay in releasing the decision.
For insurers and claims professionals on Ontario auto files, the message is straightforward. When a production dispute flares up in a SABS matter already before the LAT, the path to relief runs through the Tribunal - not the Superior Court. Detours can come at a cost.
