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The court awarded the defendant substantial costs after statutory deductibles reduced the plaintiffs' jury award to zero.
This is a costs endorsement following a three-week jury trial for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident.
The plaintiffs, Satish and Sharoj Sharma, were awarded nominal damages ($500 total) which were largely eliminated by statutory deductibles.
The court was tasked with fixing costs for the action.
The defendant, Jesse Stewart, sought costs, arguing success on the key issues and that the trial was unnecessarily lengthened by the plaintiffs' counsel's conduct.
The plaintiffs sought full or partial indemnity costs, or alternatively, no costs, citing their alleged impecuniosity.
The court found the plaintiffs were largely unsuccessful, treating the jury's award as $0 for costs purposes due to the deductibles.
The defendant's reasonable offers to settle, which were not accepted, further supported a costs award against the plaintiffs.
The court also considered instances of plaintiffs' counsel's conduct that unnecessarily lengthened the trial.
The plaintiffs' claim of impecuniosity was not given weight due to insufficient evidence and the existence of costs insurance.
The court awarded the defendant $65,000 in legal fees plus HST, $64,638.04 in disbursements (after reductions for unreasonable expert fees and mediation costs), and $1,321.17 for a mid-trial motion, totaling $139,409.21.
