Louise Moher

The moving party sought to transfer a contract rectification action from Toronto to Ottawa under Rule 13.1.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The dispute arose from a federal government wireless services transition contract negotiated and administered in the National Capital Region, and the material witnesses for both sides were located there.

Applying a holistic balancing of the venue-transfer factors, the court held that the moving party had shown Ottawa was significantly better than Toronto and that transfer was desirable in the interests of justice.

The motion was granted, subject to approval of the Regional Senior Justice for the East Region, with costs left for submissions if necessary.

Following the release of the main appeal judgment, the respondents CB Richard Ellis Limited, John Lafontaine, Karen Pickernell, and Carl Lavoie requested costs of the appeal.

They had filed a factum but made no oral submissions.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the appellant that awarding a full counsel fee would be duplicative, and instead awarded these respondents one half of the costs awarded to the other respondents, fixed at $3,750 inclusive of disbursements and taxes.

The plaintiff appealed an order dismissing its action for delay at a status hearing.

The action had not progressed beyond the pleadings stage five years after it was commenced.

The plaintiff failed to comply with a timetable agreed upon at a previous status hearing.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the status hearing judge did not err in considering the entire history of the delay, inferring the defendants' belief that the action was abandoned, and dismissing the action without evidence of actual prejudice to the defendants.