The plaintiffs sued the defendants for defamation based on two letters.
Upon discovering the letters had not been published, the plaintiffs brought a motion to dismiss their own action and sought costs against the defendants.
The motion judge treated the motion as a discontinuance and awarded costs to the defendants under Rule 23.05.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, confirming that a plaintiff cannot move to dismiss its own action to avoid the presumptive costs consequences of discontinuance.
