The plaintiff, Wanda Labanowicz, sought costs and interest following a successful three-week trial against the Corporation of the Town of Fort Erie, where she was awarded $894,839.72 in damages for a bicycle accident.
The court considered the plaintiff's pre-trial offers, which she surpassed, the defendant's "scorched earth" defence, the case's complexity, and the parties' reasonable expectations.
The court found the defendant's offers to be 'nuisance' value and criticized its unreasonable and unsupported defences.
While largely granting costs to the plaintiff on a partial indemnity basis to the date of her May 2016 offer and substantial indemnity thereafter, the court reduced the plaintiff's proposed Bill of Costs by $35,000 for pre-May Offer costs and made further reductions for post-May Offer costs and costs submissions due to duplication from multiple law firms and excessive clerk/student time.
Disbursements and OHIP claims were largely upheld, and full interest was awarded to the plaintiff.