The plaintiffs brought an action for damages arising from a motor vehicle accident.
The defendant made a Rule 49 offer to settle, which was rejected.
At trial, the damages awarded were greater than the offer before applying the mandatory deductions under s. 267.5(7) of the Insurance Act, but less than the offer after the deductions.
The trial judge refused to award the defendant costs, finding that doing so would thwart s. 267.5(9) of the Act.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the defendant's appeal, holding that the statutory deductions are not to be taken into account in determining whether a defendant is presumptively entitled to costs under Rule 49.