Ghareeb Awad

The respondents sought costs following the dismissal of the moving party's motion to extend time.

The respondents claimed costs on a substantial indemnity basis, including fees for new counsel necessitated by the moving party commencing an action against the respondents' original counsel.

The court found the motion was an abuse of process and awarded substantial indemnity costs.

After adjusting the hours and rates to reflect a fair and reasonable amount, the court fixed costs at $20,000 inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The moving parties sought an extension of time to appeal an order dismissing their application as an abuse of process.

Although the moving parties formed an intention to appeal within the time limit and adequately explained their delay, the court found no merit to the proposed appeal.

The claims related to an oil reserve had already been litigated and finally determined in British Columbia, rendering the Ontario application an attempt to relitigate.

Furthermore, the limitation period had expired several years prior.

The motion for an extension of time was dismissed.

The respondents brought a motion to quash an appeal to the Divisional Court from an order dismissing the appellants' application as an abuse of process.

The appellants argued the appeal belonged in the Divisional Court because the original proceeding was brought under the Business Corporations Act.

The court determined that the 'lynchpin' of the underlying application was a claim for breach of a joint venture agreement, not a corporate remedy.

Consequently, the order appealed from was a final order disposing of contractual claims, meaning the appeal properly lies to the Court of Appeal under section 6(1)(b) of the Courts of Justice Act.

The motion to quash was granted.