Heidi Suter

The plaintiff father brought an action against the defendant company, owned by his son, claiming he was an equal partner based on an oral agreement made 25 years ago when he contributed $18,000 to the purchase of the business.

The court found the plaintiff's evidence unreliable and accepted the defendant's evidence that the money was provided as a gift to help another son immigrate to Canada, not as a business investment.

The claim for unjust enrichment was also dismissed as the funds were a gift.

The action was dismissed without costs.

This decision addresses the costs award following the dismissal of the defendant's motion for summary judgment.

The court determined that the plaintiff was entitled to "costs thrown away" on the summary judgment motion, as some evidentiary material would be relevant for the upcoming trial.

The court distinguished between evidentiary and legal argumentation components, awarding costs for the latter.

The plaintiff was awarded $10,021.46, inclusive of HST, for legal research, factum drafting, and case law compilation.

The defendant son moved for summary judgment to dismiss his father's action claiming a 50% partnership interest in a printing business based on an alleged 1991 oral agreement.

The court held a mini-trial to resolve conflicting evidence regarding the father's financial contribution.

Due to significant, unexplained discrepancies in the son's evidence regarding the purpose of the funds, the court concluded it could not fairly resolve the matter summarily.

The motion for summary judgment was dismissed and the matter was ordered to proceed to trial.