Joel Dick

This is a costs endorsement following a 12-day jury trial in a motor vehicle accident case.

The Plaintiff, Kyriaki Moustakis, was awarded $55,252.61 in net damages and sought substantial indemnity costs, having beaten her Rule 49 offer to settle.

The Defendant, Reynaldo Agbuya, opposed the quantum of costs and sought costs thrown away due to a late amendment by the Plaintiff.

The court awarded the Plaintiff $378,000 in costs (partial indemnity to the offer date, substantial thereafter) and $3,252.79 in prejudgment interest.

The Defendant was awarded $10,000 in full indemnity costs for the costs thrown away.

The court found the Plaintiff's choice of ordinary procedure reasonable, rejected arguments of "trial by ambush" and ATE insurance influence, and disallowed costs for focus groups.

The plaintiff sought damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident.

Liability was admitted, and a jury awarded damages for pain and suffering, past income loss, and future income loss.

The court then heard the defendant's threshold motion, which argued the plaintiff's injuries did not meet the statutory threshold for non-pecuniary loss.

The court denied the defendant's motion, finding that the plaintiff had sustained a permanent serious impairment of an important mental or psychological function, thus allowing her claim for non-pecuniary damages to proceed.