Hugh George Brown

The plaintiff moved to amend her claim to continue the action under the simplified procedure, which would require striking the defendant’s jury notice.

The defendant opposed, arguing prejudice if deprived of a jury trial and that the trial would exceed the five-day limit of the simplified rules.

The court found the trial could be completed within five days with proper management and that striking the jury notice would not cause non-compensable prejudice.

The court ordered the action to proceed under the simplified procedure, struck the jury notice, and awarded costs to the plaintiff.

The Co-operators General Insurance Company, successful in a prior application, sought substantial indemnity costs of $103,375.96 against Definity Insurance Company, an intervenor.

Definity argued for partial indemnity costs of $58,884.

The court declined to award substantial indemnity, citing Co-operators' own conduct, including late disclosure of key documents and a last-minute re-election to proceed by judge alone after initially seeking a jury trial, which unnecessarily lengthened the proceedings.

The court awarded $70,000 inclusive of costs, disbursements, and HST to Co-operators from Definity.

This decision addresses the quantum of costs following a 4-day jury trial where the plaintiff was successful on liability but found contributorily negligent, resulting in an award of $58,590.09.

The plaintiff sought $206,960.36 in costs, while the defendants proposed $45,400.

The court, exercising its broad discretion under the Courts of Justice Act and considering Rule 57.01(1) and Rule 49.10(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, found the plaintiff's requested costs disproportionate and unreasonable due to excessive hourly fees and unnecessary disbursements.

The court awarded the plaintiff $75,000 in all-inclusive costs.