When a Claimant Dies Mid-Proceeding: LAT Tosses Accident Benefits Claim Over Missing Estate Trustee
An Ontario accident benefits claim was dismissed after the applicant reportedly died the same day it was filed - with no estate trustee ever appointed.
Evgueni Touliakov was hurt in a car accident on April 18, 2023, and filed for statutory accident benefits from CUMIS General Insurance Company. CUMIS said no. His lawyer then brought the dispute to Ontario's Licence Appeal Tribunal on May 29, 2024. The problem? According to counsel, Touliakov died intestate that very same day. No death certificate was ever filed to confirm when exactly he passed.
And yet, the claim kept moving.
For nearly two years, the case wound its way through procedural stages at the Tribunal - case conferences, adjournments, hearing scheduling - all without a court-appointed estate trustee or executor to legally carry the claim forward. The application had been completed electronically, with no handwritten signature.
At an October 2024 case conference, counsel told the Tribunal and CUMIS that the applicant had died and that he was trying to reach potential heirs. The matter was adjourned on consent. When it picked back up in November 2024, counsel still had no update. The Tribunal gave more time, setting the case down for a written hearing.
By July 2025, submissions were filed - still with no word on estate representation. The Tribunal started pressing the issue. Emails went out in February 2026 requesting confirmation. On February 24, 2026, Adjudicator Nadia Mauro issued a formal order: clarify who has legal authority to act on behalf of the deceased, by March 9. Counsel's answer was straightforward - no estate trustee had been appointed.
Counsel argued he was acting in good faith, relying on instructions the applicant gave while alive and later reconfirmed with the applicant's daughter and closest next-of-kin. Without an estate trustee, counsel said, those last known instructions were the only lawful and reliable basis to press forward.
The Tribunal did not agree. Under Ontario's Insurance Act, only the insured person - or a legally recognized representative like an executor or estate trustee - can bring a claim for accident benefits. The Tribunal pointed out that it has no power over estate matters; that jurisdiction belongs to the Superior Court of Justice. And its own rules offer no workaround for appointing one.
Counsel had produced no death certificate, no evidence on whether the death was connected to the accident, and no proof the applicant had authorized the full scope of the proceeding. Over a 302-day stretch between the case conference and the hearing date, nobody - not next-of-kin, not anyone else - took steps to formalize estate representation.
In Touliakov v. CUMIS General Insurance Company (2026 ONLAT 24-006752/AABS), Adjudicator Mauro dismissed the application under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, finding it had not been properly continued and that letting it proceed without a legally authorized representative would amount to an abuse of process. The merits - disputed treatment plans, interest, and a potential award under s. 10 of Regulation 664 - were never reached. The file was closed.
The decision echoes earlier rulings, including Jamil Toma v. State Farm (2014) and Chandrarajah vs. Economical Insurance (2024), and carries a clear signal for the industry: when a claimant dies mid-dispute, insist on proper estate documentation early. Informal nods from family members will not cut it at the Tribunal.
