A. Crawley

In an insurance coverage action, the parties brought three motions regarding discovery refusals and the examination of a second discovery representative.

The judge determined that the motions were within the jurisdiction of a Master and, pursuant to the Toronto Region Consolidated Practice Direction, transferred the motions to a Master for determination.

The judge also ordered a case conference to address procedural deficiencies and ensure the orderly development of the motions for hearing.

The plaintiffs brought a motion to amend their Statement of Claim and add parties.

The defendants consented to the amendments but sought costs thrown away for steps already taken, including preparing the original statement of defence and securing productions.

The court dismissed the claim for costs thrown away, finding that the motion was not a last-minute application and the steps taken were not redundant or useless.

The court noted that the defendants could claim these costs at trial if successful.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' oppression action after a hybrid trial, the successful defendants sought partial indemnity costs.

The plaintiffs argued that each party should bear its own costs because the defendants' unlawful conduct provoked the litigation.

The court rejected this argument, finding the defendants were entitled to costs.

The court also addressed the novel issue of whether costs for preparing affidavits and cross-examinations for pre-trial motions are recoverable when that evidence is subsequently used in a hybrid trial.

The court held that such costs are recoverable to the extent the work product was material to the trial issues, to encourage the use of hybrid trials.

The court fixed EnGlobe's costs at $200,232.47 and Busseri's costs at $116,321.99.

The plaintiffs, minority shareholders of EnGlobe Corp., brought an action alleging that EnGlobe and its CEO engaged in oppressive conduct and conspired with a third party to freeze their shares during a proxy fight.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the freezing of the shares resulted from a consent order in separate litigation, not from any oppressive conduct or conspiracy by EnGlobe.

The court also held that the claims were barred by cause of action estoppel due to a prior consent dismissal order, and that the oppression claim was statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.