This is a costs decision following a trial where the plaintiff, Quality General Contractor’s Inc., was unsuccessful in establishing a contract with the owners and its construction lien was found to have expired.
The court awarded substantial indemnity costs of $54,000 to the owners, Judy Wu and Ivan Zee Hin Chan.
The award was based on the owners' successful outcome, their reasonable offers to settle that were significantly more favourable than the trial result, and the plaintiff's abusive conduct, including fabrication of invoices and diary entries and failure to produce key documents, which complicated the proceedings.
The court also considered the proportionality of costs, noting the importance and complexity of the case to the owners due to the plaintiff's groundless claim of a collateral contract leading to potential double liability.
