The respondent city sought costs against the appellants following an appeal of convictions under the Building Code Act.
The appellants had appealed their convictions and sentences of fines totaling $47,500.00.
The court upheld the convictions but reduced the fines to $21,000.00, which matched an offer to settle made by the city.
The city sought to recover solicitor and client costs of $18,258.00 incurred after making the settlement offer.
The court declined to award costs, finding that the case was not exceptional and that cost awards are rare in Provincial Offences litigation, which are intended to be informal proceedings accessible to lay persons.
