C.R. Colraine

The Divisional Court determined the costs of a summary judgment motion, an application for leave to appeal, and the appeal itself, following the dismissal of the defendants' appeal.

The court upheld the motion judge's award of $18,000 for the summary judgment motion.

The court awarded the plaintiff partial indemnity costs of $10,000 plus HST for the leave to appeal application and $22,500 all-inclusive for the appeal, rejecting the plaintiff's request for substantial indemnity costs.

The appellants appealed the dismissal of their motion for summary judgment.

They argued that s. 97(2) of the Employment Standards Act barred the respondent's civil action for wrongful dismissal because she had already commenced an ESA complaint.

The Divisional Court upheld the motions judge's decision to decline ruling on the summary judgment motion, noting the respondent's serious allegations of intentional torts, including misrepresentation and fraud affecting the ESA process.

The court found that the evidence required for the tort claims would overlap with the wrongful dismissal claim, making summary judgment inefficient and inappropriate.

The appeal was dismissed.