L. C. Sheard

Following the dismissal of the plaintiff's defamation action under the anti-SLAPP provisions of the Courts of Justice Act, the successful defendant sought costs of $78,104.24 on a full indemnity basis.

The defendant, a lawyer, claimed costs for his own time spent as a self-represented litigant before retaining counsel.

The court found that full indemnity costs were not appropriate and that the time claimed by the defendant for his own work was excessive and not fully attributable to lost remunerative activity.

The court fixed the defendant's costs at $45,000 inclusive of disbursements and taxes.

The plaintiff brought a defamation action against the defendant regarding Twitter posts that highlighted the plaintiff's past involvement with white supremacist organizations and criticized the City of Hamilton for employing him in its IT department.

The defendant brought an anti-SLAPP motion under s. 137.1 of the Courts of Justice Act to dismiss the action.

The court granted the motion, finding that while the defamation claim had substantial merit, the plaintiff failed to show that the defendant had no valid defences of fair comment and justification.

Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to establish that the harm he suffered outweighed the public interest in protecting the defendant's expressions regarding municipal accountability and public safety.

The defendant successfully moved to strike the plaintiff's jury notice and sought costs of $80,461.65 on a substantial indemnity basis or $61,175.38 on a partial indemnity basis.

The plaintiff argued for partial indemnity costs of $15,000.

The court rejected the defendant's request for substantial indemnity costs, finding the plaintiff did not act unreasonably in refusing to withdraw its jury notice despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applying the principles of reasonableness and the expectations of the parties, the court fixed the defendant's costs at $42,000 on a partial indemnity basis.

The defendant, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), brought a motion to strike the plaintiff's jury notice in an action arising from a tender process for the refurbishment of a nuclear reactor.

AECL argued the case was too complex for a jury, that a jury trial against a federal Crown agent is prohibited by the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act (CLPA), and that the plaintiff sought equitable relief.

The court granted the motion, finding that the factual and legal issues were too complex for a jury and that section 26 of the CLPA applies to AECL, prohibiting a jury trial.

The court rejected the argument that the plaintiff was seeking equitable relief.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' motion to set aside the Registrar's dismissal of their action, the successful defendant municipality sought partial indemnity costs.

The plaintiffs opposed the costs claimed on the basis that the time spent by the defendant's in-house counsel was estimated rather than docketed.

The court found the defendant's estimates were supported by the evidentiary record and were fair and reasonable.

Costs were awarded to the defendant in the amount of $22,908.11.

Following a judgment in favour of the plaintiffs by counterclaim for $181,448.80 against their brother for stripping assets from their late father's estate, the successful parties sought full indemnity costs.

The court declined to award full indemnity costs for the trial portion, noting the brother's pleadings had already been struck and he did not participate in the trial.

Costs were awarded on a substantial indemnity scale, fixed at $21,985.00 for one brother and $13,930.00 for the other.