Gordon A. Marsden

The appellant appealed a costs award of $300,000 made by the trial judge following a motor vehicle accident case.

The respondent was struck by a vehicle driven by the appellant while crossing a pedestrian crossing.

After a three-week jury trial, the jury awarded the respondent $24,166 in general damages and $26,000 in special damages for past income loss, with a net recovery of $16,160.50 after accounting for contributory negligence and statutory deductibles.

The trial judge awarded costs on a partial indemnity basis, finding the respondent was more successful at trial.

The appellant argued the costs award was wholly disproportionate to the modest recovery and that the trial judge erred in finding the respondent was more successful.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the costs award.

The plaintiff, Erwin Banfi, brought a motion for approval of a class action settlement and class counsel fees against multiple municipal and provincial defendants concerning alleged increased flood risk and reduced property values due to overdevelopment in Oakville.

The action, initially premised on property diminution, shifted focus due to difficulties in proving causation and quantifying individual damages.

The proposed settlement involved a $500,000 payment by defendants to the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation for a flood education and protection program for class members, and class counsel fees of $495,000.

The court approved the cy-près settlement, finding it fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class, given the litigation's challenges and the material benefit provided to class members.

Class counsel fees and a $5,000 honorarium for the representative plaintiff were also approved.

The defendant insurer brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's action for coverage of water damage to her property.

The insurer argued that the policy's vacancy exclusion applied because the plaintiff, who had moved to a retirement home due to cognitive impairment, had no intention of returning.

The court found that the plaintiff lacked the capacity to form an intention to return and that there was no objective plan for her to do so.

The court concluded there was no genuine issue for trial regarding the vacancy exclusion and granted the summary judgment motion, dismissing the action.

The appellant insurer appealed an order requiring it to defend the respondents in an action arising from an ATV accident.

The insurer denied coverage on the basis that the ATV was not required to be insured as it was being operated on private property and did not fall under the definition of "automobile" in the OAP 1.

The Court of Appeal upheld the application judge's decision, finding that the pleadings alleged facts permitting a finding that the respondents were not occupiers of the property at the time of the accident, which was sufficient to trigger the insurer's duty to defend under the policy.

The defendants sought leave to appeal a costs order made by Corkery J. following a settlement.

The underlying issue concerned whether costs and disbursements ran to the date of service of the settlement offer or the date of acceptance, impacting costs accumulated over a two-month period.

The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, finding that the defendants did not meet the grounds under Rule 62.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, as there were no conflicting decisions on principles of costs interpretation and no good reason to doubt the correctness of the original order.

An insurer sought to amend its statement of defence approximately nine years after a fire destroyed the insured's restaurant to assert that the insured had deliberately set the fire, rather than relying on its original defence of non-cooperation with the fire investigation.

The motion judge dismissed the amendment motion and awarded substantial indemnity costs.

The Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal of the amendment but reduced the costs award, finding that while the insurer's delay was inordinate and triggered a presumption of prejudice that was not rebutted, the conduct did not rise to the level of egregious misconduct warranting substantial indemnity costs.

The plaintiffs successfully opposed a motion by the Zimmer defendants to stay their action.

The court awarded the plaintiffs costs of $10,826.50 on a partial indemnity basis, payable "in any event of the cause," acknowledging the novelty and importance of the motion while deferring actual payment until the action's merits are determined.

The defendants, Zimmer GmbH, Zimmer, Inc., and Zimmer of Canada Limited (collectively "Zimmer"), moved for an order staying the individual action brought by the plaintiffs, Heather Ann Crider and Adrian Wilson, against them.

Zimmer argued that the plaintiffs were class members in overlapping medical products liability class actions (McSherry in Ontario and Jones in British Columbia) concerning the "Durom Cup" hip implant device manufactured by Zimmer, and thus their individual claims should be stayed or barred by res judicata.

The court found that while Ms. Crider technically remained a class member in the McSherry action due to compliance with the court-ordered notice plan, she had informally communicated her intent to opt out of the class action to class counsel prior to the opt-out deadline.

The court concluded that Ms. Crider should be permitted to opt out of the McSherry Action, preserving her litigation autonomy, and therefore dismissed Zimmer's motion for a stay.

This motion concerned the certification of a class action arising from a fire at a self-storage facility.

The plaintiff sought to certify a class proceeding on behalf of tenants who lost property, claiming damages in contract, tort, and unjust enrichment.

The court certified the action, finding that four of the five certification requirements under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992 were met.

Most proposed common issues related to negligence, limitation of liability, assignment of leases, and punitive damages were certified, while issues regarding prejudgment interest and unjust enrichment for retained advance rental payments were not.

No costs were awarded due to the parties' cooperation and the substantial revision of issues.

The defendant moved for an order compelling the plaintiff, who resides in British Columbia, to post security for costs in an action alleging historical abuse.

The plaintiff opposed the motion on the basis of impecuniosity.

The court found that the plaintiff had made full and frank disclosure of her financial circumstances, establishing that she was impecunious.

The court also found that the plaintiff's claim, which would largely turn on credibility, was not plainly devoid of merit.

The motion for security for costs was dismissed, with costs of $5,000 awarded to the plaintiff.