John E. MacDonnell

The plaintiffs sought costs after successfully opposing the defendants' motion for leave to register certificates of pending litigation.

The court considered factors under Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, including the principle of indemnity and the unsuccessful party's reasonable expectations.

Despite the plaintiffs' higher actual costs, the court fixed costs on a partial indemnity basis, balancing the parties' expectations and the motion's importance to the plaintiffs, though it was not complex.

Costs were fixed at $7,500.00, inclusive of fees, disbursements, and HST, payable by the defendants to the plaintiffs within 30 days.

The appellants appealed a trial judgment upholding a Sharia Law-based arbitration award rendered in Iran regarding a property dispute between brothers.

The trial judge found that the appellants had clearly agreed to be bound by the arbitrator's judgment, all four conditions for a binding Sharia Law ruling had been met, and the appellants were estopped from relitigating the same issues in Ontario.

The appellants argued the International Commercial Arbitration Act should apply, but the trial judge found the application was out of time and, in any event, there was no unfairness in the arbitral proceeding.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judgment, finding no error and deferring to the trial judge's factual findings.