Heather Williams

The defendants sought costs after successfully moving to dismiss the plaintiff's action as an abuse of process.

The court had previously found that the action was commenced under a pseudonym by a declared vexatious litigant who required leave to start an action.

The court awarded substantial indemnity costs to the CBC defendants and another defendant, finding the plaintiff's conduct justified elevated costs.

The court also noted inappropriate submissions made by the plaintiff's counsel.

The defendants brought a motion to dismiss a $20 million libel action, alleging the plaintiff was actually a declared vexatious litigant using an alias to circumvent a court order requiring leave to commence proceedings.

The plaintiff repeatedly failed to comply with court orders to produce government-issued identification.

The court drew an adverse inference from this failure, concluding the plaintiff was indeed the vexatious litigant using an alias.

The action was dismissed as an abuse of process and for failing to obtain the required leave.