Kim Dullett

The plaintiffs brought a motion for court approval of a partial settlement in a medical negligence action involving a person under disability.

The court found the supplementary motion record insufficient, noting non-compliance with filing rules (exhibits on USB stick, unnumbered pages) and a lack of substantive evidence.

Specifically, counsel failed to provide the necessary analyses of liability issues and the merits of claims against the settling defendants, relying on solicitor-client privilege which the court previously clarified was not a barrier.

The motion was adjourned to allow the plaintiffs to deliver the requisite evidence.

The court issued a costs endorsement following post-trial motions concerning the assignment of Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits, pre-judgment interest (PJI) rates, and tax treatment of LTD benefits.

The defendant sought partial indemnity costs for these motions, while the plaintiff argued for each party to bear their own costs, citing legal developments and novelty of arguments.

The court awarded the defendant $8,000 in partial indemnity costs for the PJI portion of Motion 1, finding the plaintiff's argument on PJI not novel.

For the assignment and tax treatment issues (Motion 1 and Motion 2), the court found both parties responsible for the lack of agreement and ordered them to bear their own costs.

The court also addressed costs for preserving the plaintiff's LTD rights, which were to be paid by Aviva on a full indemnity scale, with quantum to be resolved by the parties or fixed by the court.

Following a jury trial in a personal injury action where the plaintiff was awarded $698,112.58 in damages, the court determined the plaintiff's entitlement to costs.

The parties agreed on most rates and disbursements but disputed the senior counsel's hourly rate for 2017 and 2018, and whether the costs should reflect the net recovery after an assignment of collateral benefits.

The court fixed senior counsel's rate at $375 per hour, declined to reduce costs based on the uncertain future of collateral benefits, and awarded the plaintiff partial indemnity costs totaling $466,185.76.

In a post-trial ruling following a motor vehicle accident trial, the court determined the terms of an assignment of the plaintiff's long-term disability (LTD) benefits to the defendant's insurer.

The court held that the defendant is entitled to a credit for the gross amount of the LTD benefits, regardless of the tax deducted at source by the LTD insurer.

The court also ruled that the effective date of the assignment is the date of the jury's verdict, not the date the judgment is paid, and ordered the defendant to reimburse the plaintiff for reasonable costs incurred in preserving her right to the LTD benefits.