Marie Lampropoulos

In a personal injury action arising from a motor vehicle accident, the defendant moved for production of the plaintiff's workplace harassment complaint file from a non-party employer, contending the records were relevant to damages, causation, and income loss.

The court held that while the records were confidential under workplace policy and privacy legislation, the plaintiff failed to establish common law privilege under the Wigmore criteria.

Applying the non-party production fairness analysis, the court found it would be unfair to require the defendant to proceed to trial without the documents because of their importance, the risk of trial delay, and the limited efficiency of obtaining the equivalent information otherwise.

Unredacted production was ordered from both the plaintiff and the employer, with a limited further examination for discovery permitted.

Following a jury trial for a motor vehicle accident where the plaintiff pedestrian was awarded damages less than the defendant's Rule 49 offer to settle, the court determined the costs payable.

The plaintiff was awarded costs up to the date of the offer, and the defendant was awarded costs thereafter.

The court reduced the defendant's costs due to a late concession on liability and the improper testimony of the defendant's expert witness, resulting in a net costs award payable to the plaintiff.