G. Gordon Bent

Following a judgment awarding the applicant $62,246.68 for a partnership claim, the parties could not agree on the pre-judgment interest rate.

The applicant sought the default rate of 4.8% under s. 127 of the Courts of Justice Act.

The respondents argued for a reduced rate of 1.95% under s. 130, citing lower market rates over the lengthy period, the modest recovery compared to the amount claimed, and the applicant's delay.

The court exercised its discretion under s. 130 and fixed the pre-judgment interest rate at 2.2%.

This was a costs endorsement following an application concerning the dissolution of a partnership and the accounting between former partners.

The applicant had succeeded in obtaining recovery for a share of post-dissolution profits under s. 42 of the Partnerships Act and for the fair market value of his one-third interest, but recovered substantially less than originally claimed.

Applying s. 131 of the Courts of Justice Act and Rules 57.01, 49.10, and 49.13 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court held that costs should follow the event but reduced the requested amount as disproportionate to the proceeding.

The court found the matter was straightforward and of moderate complexity, identified duplication and excessive hours, allowed the expert-report disbursement, and fixed all-inclusive partial indemnity costs at $48,388.71.

The applicant and respondents operated a chiropractic and physiotherapy clinic as a partnership.

Following the dissolution of the partnership, the respondents continued to operate out of the same premises using partnership assets.

The applicant sought a share of the post-dissolution profits under s. 42 of the Partnerships Act and a determination of the fair market value of his one-third share of the partnership.

The court awarded the applicant a portion of the post-dissolution profits based on the percentage attributable to the use of partnership assets, and determined the fair market value of his share using a capitalized cash flow approach with a minority discount, resulting in a total award of $62,246.68.