Morris A. Chochla

Following a successful appeal regarding the apportionment of damages, the court determined the costs of the appeal and cross-appeal.

The third parties were ordered to pay partial indemnity costs of $50,000 to the appellants and $75,000 to the respondents.

The appellants were ordered to pay $30,000 in partial indemnity costs to the respondents, as the respondents were required to address all issues initially raised by the appellants.

The appellants, an engineering firm and its principal, appealed a trial judgment apportioning liability for damages between them and their insurers.

The trial judge found the appellants liable in negligence and breach of contract for errors and delays in engineering drawings for a construction project.

The trial judge apportioned 45% of the damages to the appellants and 55% to the insurers, based on an exclusion clause for delay.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that all delays were caused by the appellants' negligence in having to correct errors, which was covered under the policy.

The insurers' cross-appeal regarding the assessment of damages and the date used for foreign currency conversion was dismissed.

The plaintiffs sought leave to appeal an order removing their counsel of record.

The motion judge had removed the plaintiffs' counsel based on an unsworn, un-noticed motion by an individual defendant alleging a conflict of interest, and subsequently refused to consent to the release of the hearing transcript.

The Divisional Court granted leave to appeal, finding reason to doubt the correctness of the order due to the lack of notice, evidence, and opportunity to be heard, and noting that the issues of right to counsel, natural justice, and access to court transcripts are of fundamental importance to the administration of justice.

The plaintiffs, a precast concrete manufacturer and its sales agent, sued an engineering company and its principal for breach of contract and negligence arising from delayed and error-filled engineering drawings for a parking garage project.

The court found the defendants liable in both contract and tort for pure economic loss.

The court admitted subcontractor invoices as business records under the principled approach to hearsay to prove damages.

The defendants' third-party claim against their insurers was partially allowed, with the court allocating damages between covered errors and excluded delays.

In a complex construction lien dispute involving multiple related actions arising from the redevelopment of a municipal facility, several parties brought a motion to vary a prior case management order to establish a trial sequence.

The consolidated litigation involved lien claims, bond claims, and related economic loss and trust claims among a municipality, a general contractor, sub‑trades, architects, and bonding parties.

The moving parties sought to try the sub‑trades’ lien claims first, followed by the general contractor’s lien claim and then the remaining actions.

The court held that a case management judge has broad procedural authority under Rule 77 to manage litigation efficiently and may vary earlier procedural orders where new circumstances arise.

Considering a conditional settlement offer and the potential for significantly shortening the litigation, the court granted the motion and ordered the proposed trial sequence.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a costs endorsement following an appeal.

The court reviewed the parties' written submissions and largely agreed with the appellant's position, finding it fair and reasonable.

The court slightly increased the award to the main respondent to reflect its greater participation.

Costs were awarded to the respondents on a partial indemnity basis, totaling $30,000.

The appellant insurer appealed a decision finding it had a duty to indemnify the respondent insured under a commercial general liability policy for damages arising from defective concrete.

The insurer relied on the 'Your Work' and 'Rip and Tear' exclusions.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding that the 'Your Work' exclusion was ousted by the 'subcontractor' exception because the entity that supplied the defective concrete was properly characterized as a subcontractor.

The Court also found the 'Rip and Tear' exclusion incomprehensible and therefore inapplicable.

The appellants, environmental consultants, appealed a declaration that their insurers had no duty to defend them in an action alleging deceit, secret commissions, bid rigging, conspiracy, breach of contract, and negligence.

The Court of Appeal upheld the application judge's findings that claims relating to certain properties were excluded by the Design/Build exclusion, as the policy did not cover actual remediation work.

The Court also agreed that the negligence claims were derivative of the intentional torts and thus excluded by the Fraudulent Act exclusion.

The appeal was dismissed, with a minor variation to the wording of the declaration.