C. O’Donnell

Following the dismissal of an application for judicial review seeking to quash or adjourn the commencement date of a coroner's inquest, the court determined the issue of costs.

The respondent coroner and the family of the deceased sought costs against the applicant and his employer, a ski club.

The court found the claimed costs excessive but ordered the applicant and the ski club to jointly and severally pay fixed costs of $7,500 to the coroner and $2,500 to the family.

The applicant sought judicial review of a coroner's orders refusing to adjourn an upcoming inquest into a fatal ski accident and initiating an inquiry into a potential conflict of interest by the applicant's counsel.

The applicant also sought to remove the coroner based on a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Divisional Court dismissed the application regarding the adjournment and bias, finding no jurisdictional error or fundamental failure of justice in the coroner's procedural rulings.

However, the court set aside the coroner's order directing the applicant's counsel to disclose information about his retainer, finding the coroner lacked sufficient material to initiate a conflict of interest inquiry on his own motion.