Nestor Kostyniuk

The defendant Western Assurance Company brought a motion to amend a previously issued consent judgment that approved an infant settlement and dismissed the action against another defendant.

Western Assurance sought to amend the judgment to dismiss the entire action without costs, relying on a prior unapproved release.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the prior judgment was fully executed and could not be amended to include a non-party to that settlement.

The court directed that a separate motion under Rule 7.08 is required to approve the settlement and dismiss the action against Western Assurance.

Following the dismissal of the plaintiffs' personal injury action on summary judgment, the court determined the costs payable.

The defendants sought costs from the plaintiffs and argued the plaintiffs should also be liable for the costs of the third parties, whom the defendants had joined.

The court applied the general rule that an unsuccessful plaintiff is not responsible for the costs of third parties they did not sue, finding no exceptional circumstances to depart from this rule.

The plaintiffs were ordered to pay the defendants $44,000 in partial indemnity costs, while the defendants were ordered to pay the full costs claimed by the various third parties, totaling over $133,000.