D.E. Heffernan

Following the dismissal of the appellant's appeal regarding real estate commissions, the successful respondent, Right at Home Realty Inc., sought costs.

The appellant, who was self-represented, opposed the costs and attempted to re-litigate the merits of the appeal, including making unfounded claims of bias.

The court awarded the respondent costs on a partial indemnity scale in the amount of $5,027.00, finding the amount reasonable given the complexity introduced by the appellant's arguments and noting that her conduct did not cross the threshold into abusive or reprehensible behaviour to warrant substantial indemnity costs.

The appellant, a real estate agent, appealed the dismissal of her Small Claims Court action against two brokerages for unpaid commissions.

The appellant had submitted a conditional offer on behalf of clients that was not accepted by the vendors, and subsequently sued for the cooperating broker's commission.

The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding that a conditional offer does not create a binding contract and the vendors had no obligation to accept it.

The court also rejected the appellant's claims of bias against the trial judge and upheld the trial costs awards.