Following a Rule 21 motion to strike portions of a pleading, the court addressed the issue of costs after the motion produced mixed results.
The defendants achieved partial success but most of the impugned amended statement of claim survived.
The court found the defendants’ decision to pursue the motion against the amended pleading was not unreasonable and rejected arguments that the motion constituted an abuse of process or was barred by res judicata.
Given the divided success and the procedural context in which the claim had been amended in response to the motion, the court exercised its discretion to decline awarding costs to either party.
