Paul Colangelo

The plaintiff, a minor who suffered a catastrophic brain injury, brought a basket motion for approval of a multi-million dollar settlement of her tort and accident benefit claims.

The court identified numerous concerns, including potential conflicts of interest arising from plaintiff's counsel also representing the minor's father (a defendant in the tort action), commingling of expenses, proposed payment of loans to the father from the minor's settlement funds, and lack of detail regarding disbursements and fees.

The court declined to approve the settlement, ordered further evidence to address these concerns, and referred the matter to the Children's Lawyer for a report.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's action, the successful defendants sought costs on a substantial indemnity basis.

The court found that the plaintiff's conduct was not reprehensible and awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis.

The court reviewed the defendants' bills of costs, making reductions for excessive trial preparation time and for the defendants' failure to properly produce relevant documents before trial, which had necessitated a two-day adjournment.

Total costs of $784,276.99 were awarded to the defendants.