D. Barbaree

Following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' action, the court assessed the costs payable to the successful defendants on a substantial indemnity basis.

The plaintiffs had settled costs with the Accountant Defendants for $550,000.

The court reviewed the bills of costs submitted by the Lawyer Defendants, the Katz Defendants, and the Leikin Group Inc. The court made several reductions to the amounts claimed, noting issues with top-heavy staffing, excessive time spent on documentary discovery, and duplication of effort.

The court ultimately awarded substantial indemnity costs totaling $2,340,485.75 across the three remaining sets of defendants.

The plaintiffs, selling shareholders in a family-owned group of companies, brought an action against the non-selling shareholders, the companies' lawyers, and accountants.

They alleged breach of fiduciary duty, oppression, and knowing assistance arising from a share redemption transaction.

The plaintiffs claimed the defendants failed to disclose material information regarding the potential sale of a core asset to a third party at a higher value.

The court dismissed the action, finding that the share redemption was a product of self-interested negotiations where both sides had independent advice.

No ad hoc fiduciary duty was owed by the non-selling shareholders, lawyers, or accountants to the plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs' expectations were not reasonable under the oppression remedy.