The plaintiff moved to strike the defence of a foreign defendant who had failed for more than a year to pay two prior Ontario costs orders arising from unsuccessful jurisdiction motions and an appeal.
The court held that unpaid motion costs are presumptively payable within 30 days under the Rules of Civil Procedure, and rejected submissions based on international comity and fairness to foreign litigants.
Applying the authorities on striking pleadings for procedural non-compliance, the court found no evidence of impecuniosity, no explanation for the default, and no apparent meritorious defence on the existing record.
In light of recent appellate guidance, the court granted one final opportunity to cure the default, ordering that the defence be struck unless the defendant paid $49,500 by the deadline, and awarded substantial-indemnity-like motion costs of $9,500 all-inclusive.
