Lindsay Charles

This decision concerns the allocation of costs following the settlement of two related personal injury actions arising from a motor vehicle accident.

The court addresses disputes over the reasonableness and recoverability of various disbursements and legal fees, including expert reports, travel, and office expenses.

The court reduces certain disbursements and fees, providing detailed reasons for each adjustment, and clarifies the principles for assessing costs in complex personal injury litigation.

The Receiver of a deceased personal injury lawyer's professional corporation brought a motion seeking to impose a 'Sliding Fee Structure' on new counsel who took over the deceased lawyer's client files.

The Receiver argued this was necessary to efficiently realize on the estate's interest in the files.

The court dismissed the request to impose the fee structure, finding it would inappropriately override the clients' statutory rights under the Solicitors Act to receive and assess a bill.

However, the court ordered new counsel to provide the Receiver with 'Determinable Information' about the files to assist the Receiver in rendering accounts, subject to a privilege protocol.

The defendants moved to dismiss or stay the plaintiffs' claim under the Fraudulent Conveyances Act, which was added after one defendant transferred property to his wife for no consideration following a personal injury action.

The plaintiffs sought damages exceeding insurance policy limits.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that a fraudulent conveyance claim can be pursued before a judgment is obtained in the main action and that joining the claims avoids multiplicity of proceedings, with the trial judge having discretion to manage the trial process to prevent prejudice.