The Plaintiff was involved in a MVA in Minnesota and sued the state for compensation. He received the maximum allowable payment under Minnesota law of $500,000.00. Given his significant injuries, the Plaintiff brought an action against his own Ontario insurer, Security National, under the OPCF44. The motion judge ordered Security National to pay the Plaintiff up to its limits of $1 million and awarded the Plaintiff special damages equivalent to the costs he paid to his US lawyers (approximately $114,000.00). On appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the order regarding the first issue and agreed that Minnesota was an “inadequately insured motorist” under the OPCF44. The Court of Appeal reversed on the second issue and held that the OPCF44 did not require the insurer to pay special damages to compensate the Plaintiff for legal fees that he incurred in pursuing his claim in Minnesota.
