A. Lev-Farrell

Three sets of third parties brought motions for security for costs against the third-party plaintiff, a non-resident corporation with no assets in Ontario.

The third-party plaintiff opposed the motions, arguing financial hardship and relying on the income stream of its parent company and the personal undertaking of its principal.

The court found the financial disclosure provided by the third-party plaintiff to be deficient and inconsistent, failing to meet the high evidentiary burden required to establish impecuniosity or hardship.

The court granted the motions and ordered the third-party plaintiff to post security for costs in tranches.

The defendant lawyers brought a motion for security for costs and a stay of proceedings against the corporate plaintiff in a legal malpractice action.

The court granted a temporary stay due to the plaintiff's failure to file annual returns under the Corporations Information Act.

On the security for costs motion, the court found that while the corporate plaintiff had no assets, it failed to prove impecuniosity because its shareholders, who were also creditors, refused to fund the litigation but did not provide evidence that they lacked the means to do so.

The court ordered the plaintiff to post $60,000 in security for costs in three stages and stayed the action until the security is posted.