The plaintiff and the defendant mortgagee settled a construction lien action prior to trial for $8,500, leaving only the issue of costs to be determined by the court.
The plaintiff sought full indemnity costs of over $38,000, while the defendant argued for minimal or no costs.
The court declined to award costs to either party, emphasizing the general reluctance to make costs awards where all substantive issues have been settled without judicial determination on the merits, as doing so would require a disproportionate 'shadow trial' solely to assess costs.
