The court awarded costs to the plaintiff, Dan McCabe, following a trial where McCabe was found to be substantially more successful than the defendant, Finn Way General Contractor.
The plaintiff was awarded $49,451.44, while the defendant received just over $500 on its counterclaim.
The court considered the purposes of costs awards, the complexity of the issues, the parties' settlement offers, and the conduct of the litigation, including the defendant's unreasonable position in not seeking resolution.
Despite some protraction of proceedings by plaintiff's counsel, the defendant's lack of interest in settlement warranted a costs award.
A fair and reasonable award was fixed at $75,000 on a partial indemnity basis.
