Aoife C. Quinn

The plaintiff sought a mandatory injunction to compel interim monthly payments of $6,500 from the defendant business, E. Corbiere & Sons Contracting, based on an alleged oral compensation agreement.

The defendants disputed the agreement and claimed the plaintiff had already received significant advances.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the plaintiff failed to establish a strong prima facie case for the alleged oral agreement and did not demonstrate irreparable harm, as any financial loss was compensable in damages and his claims of impecuniosity were speculative.

The court also noted that the relief sought was akin to a partnership distribution not pleaded in the statement of claim.

This decision addresses costs following a partially successful summary judgment motion brought by the defendant.

The defendant sought full summary judgment, but the court dismissed only the negligence claims, allowing nuisance and strict liability claims to proceed to trial.

Both parties sought costs.

The court found the defendant's success limited and the plaintiff successfully defended the motion on other issues.

The court also rejected the defendant's argument that the plaintiff acted unreasonably in responding to a request to admit.

Exercising its discretion, the court awarded partial indemnity costs to the plaintiff, finding the requested amount reasonable.