Following the dismissal of several class actions against automobile insurers, the court determined the issue of costs.
The plaintiffs, who had relied on a previous Court of Appeal decision that was subsequently reversed, sought their costs despite being unsuccessful, citing disastrous financial consequences for their contingency-fee counsel.
The successful insurers sought their costs on a partial indemnity scale.
The Court of Appeal declined to award costs to either side.
The court held that the Class Proceedings Act was not intended to insulate unsuccessful plaintiffs from costs, but also found that the insurers should not receive costs because the litigation constituted a test case and the plaintiffs had reasonably relied on the court's own prior jurisprudence.
