September 08, 2020
In McNamee v. Oickle, 2020 ONSC 5078, the plaintiffs received $5,000 following a jury trial arising from a motor vehicle accident. Prior to trial, the defendant had offered a total of $350,000 plus costs. The plaintiffs had offered $900,000 plus costs. Justice Beaudoin described the result “as a crushing and complete loss to the plaintiffs”. Rule […]
June 10, 2020
By Erin Crochetière In a recent costs decision in Blaese v. Metcalfe, 2020 ONSC 3432, the Court dealt with some interesting issues regarding offers to settle in the context of bifurcated trials. The parties in the action agreed to bifurcate the issues of liability and damages, and a trial on the issue of liability proceeded […]
June 01, 2020
The decision in Hummel v. Jantzi, 2020 ONSC 3052, dealt with the apportionment of costs between defendants following a trial. The action arose out of a motor vehicle accident. The trial judge, Justice G.E. Taylor, found the defendant driver to be 80% liable and the defendant tavern to be 20% liable. Contributory negligence on the plaintiff […]
May 04, 2020
In Fram Elgin Mills 90 Inc. v. Romandale Farms Limited et al, 2020 ONSC 1621, the defendant was awarded costs of $2.7 million following a 13 day trial in an action that spanned 12 years. The following principles emerge from the decision: The quantum of costs should reflect an amount the court considers to be […]
April 29, 2020
By Rebecca Moore Will costs thrown away be awarded when the health of a party necessitated the adjournment of a trial? This was one of the issues examined by Justice Fowler Byrne in Syed v. Petrie, 2020 ONSC 2513 (CanLII). Background This matter proceeded to trial during the January 2020 civil jury blitz. Following a […]
April 13, 2020
By Brian Sunohara Defendants and insurers are sometimes criticized if they refuse to offer a monetary amount to settle an action. However, a recent court decision shows that they should not fear doing so if their position is supportable. In Mundinger v. Ashton, 2020 ONSC 2024, Justice Charney referred to an Ontario Court of Appeal […]
