Frederick Simon Hawa

Following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' professional negligence action as statute-barred, the successful defendant sought $15,000 in partial indemnity costs.

The court exercised its discretion under section 131(1) of the Courts of Justice Act and Rule 57.01 to deny costs to the successful defendant.

The court found that awarding costs would not advance the purposes of costs rules and would merely add insult to the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs due to the defendant's negligent and unprofessional conduct.

The defendant lawyer brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiffs' professional negligence action as statute-barred.

The plaintiffs retained the defendant in 2011, but the defendant failed to advance the action, leading to its administrative dismissal in 2012.

The plaintiffs discovered the defendant's negligence by the summer of 2016 but delayed commencing an action until November 2019, partly to pursue a Law Society complaint.

The court held that the limitation period began to run in the summer of 2016 when the plaintiffs had a plausible inference of liability, and that pursuing a regulatory complaint did not suspend the limitation period.

The motion was granted and the action dismissed.