Naiara Toker

This decision concerns the determination of costs following the dismissal of the plaintiff's action on a motion for summary judgment.

The defendants, as the successful party, sought costs of $180,753.95, while the plaintiff had initially outlined costs of $55,053.66 if successful.

The court applied the principle that costs should be fair and reasonable for the unsuccessful party to pay, rather than the actual costs incurred by the successful party.

Despite the defendants' complete success and a Rule 49 offer, the court found their claimed costs to be excessive, partly due to the number of lawyers involved and potential overpreparation.

The court awarded the defendants $65,000.00, inclusive of fees, HST, and disbursements.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's action for breach of confidentiality and fiduciary duty.

The individual defendant, a former president of the plaintiff, was terminated without cause and signed a severance agreement with a one-year confidentiality clause.

During that year, he interviewed with and accepted a job from the corporate defendant, a competitor.

The plaintiff alleged he shared confidential information, including his resume and advice to another terminated employee.

The court found no actionable breach of confidentiality or fiduciary duty, concluding there was no genuine issue for trial.

The motion for summary judgment was granted and the action dismissed.

A case management conference was held to review the progress of the action.

The parties reported compliance with several steps in the established timetable, including the delivery of pleadings, supplementary affidavits of documents, and written examination questions.

However, due to the volume and scope of the written questions, the parties requested an adjournment to assess the time needed to respond.

The court adjourned the conference to allow the parties to confer and propose a variation to the timetable.