Nadia Authier

This was a costs endorsement following the plaintiff's complete success in resisting a motion to dismiss the action for delay.

The court held the respondent plaintiff was entitled to costs on a partial indemnity scale, noting the action had been trial ready since 2019 and subsequent delay was not attributable to the plaintiff.

After reviewing the parties' bills of costs, hourly rates, and time dockets, and treating the matter as one of average complexity requiring considerable care and organization, the court fixed costs at $18,500 inclusive of disbursements and HST.

The court also remarked that the motion's costs could have been avoided had the matter proceeded to trial.

The applicant condominium corporation sought relief under sections 113 and 135 of the Condominium Act, alleging that the respondent declarant failed to adequately disclose the provisions of a Shared Amenities Agreement (SAA) and that the SAA's operation was oppressive.

The court found that while the declarant failed to disclose that future phases of the development would not proceed, the applicant did not prove this non-disclosure produced an oppressive or unconscionably prejudicial result.

The court dismissed the oppression claims, noting the applicant had withheld its share of expenses for over five years and should utilize the SAA's arbitration mechanism to resolve its operational disputes.