Michael J. Prestell

The Court of Appeal issued a costs endorsement following its decision to allow an appeal and order a new trial.

The parties reached a consent order regarding costs.

The trial costs order in favour of Katherine Cannon was set aside, with the issue of first trial costs to be determined by the new trial judge.

The respondents were ordered to pay the appellants $8,000 in appeal costs, inclusive of disbursements and taxes, with each respondent contributing $4,000 within 90 days.

The appellants, three sisters, appealed a trial decision that dismissed their claims of physical abuse against their aunt and breach of fiduciary duty against the Attorney General of Canada.

The trial judge had found the appellants' evidence unreliable due to the passage of several decades since the alleged abuse.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the trial judge erred in principle by treating the passage of time as nearly determinative of reliability without adequately considering the context of adult testimony regarding childhood abuse, as guided by the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. W. (R.).

The court ordered a new trial to properly assess the evidence.