Luke J. Saites

The applicants sought a declaration that their insurers had a duty to defend and indemnify them in an underlying tort action, along with punitive damages and costs.

The insurers eventually acknowledged the duty to defend and indemnify for reasonable legal fees.

The court found the declaration issue moot due to the insurers' acknowledgment, assessed the reasonable costs for both the tort defence and the coverage dispute, and dismissed the claim for punitive damages, finding the insurers' conduct did not meet the high threshold for such an award.

Following the discontinuance of the plaintiffs' action, the court determined the costs payable to the defendants.

The plaintiffs had sought to discontinue the action without costs, which was denied.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs to the defendants for both the action and the motion, noting the plaintiffs' reprehensible conduct in continuing the action against personal defendants despite admitting it was commenced in error.

The plaintiffs were ordered to pay a total of $53,250 in costs to the various defendants.