Niki Manwani

This decision fixes costs following a motion in long-running litigation involving the Estate of Sulochana Shanthakumar and the Royal Bank of Canada.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs to RBC and its counsel, rejecting the request for substantial indemnity and the applicant’s claim for costs.

The reasons review the history of the litigation, the conduct of the parties, and the factors under Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, ultimately awarding $16,500 in costs to be paid by Mr. Mylabathula to RBC.

The court determined costs for four motions previously heard in the proceeding.

The plaintiff was ordered to pay costs to the defendant Jain on a partial indemnity basis for a motion to admit further evidence, and on a substantial indemnity basis for motions regarding a Mareva injunction and Norwich order due to the plaintiff's reprehensible conduct, including making and withdrawing unfounded allegations of fraud.

The plaintiff was also ordered to pay full indemnity costs to the defendant Wang for a mortgage validity motion, pursuant to the standard charge terms of the mortgage.

The appellant appealed the dismissal of his action for delay and the dismissal of his motion to extend the time to set the action down for trial.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario found no reversible error in the motion judge's decision, which concluded that the appellant's more than five years of delay was inordinate and inexcusable, causing prejudice to the respondents and the administration of justice.

The appeal was dismissed, affirming the lower court's decision to dismiss the entire action, even though only one respondent had sought dismissal for delay.

This action involved allegations of financial improprieties related to mortgage transactions.

Three motions were heard: a defendant's motion to challenge an ex parte Mareva order, the plaintiff's motion for a Norwich order, and a defendant's motion to determine the validity of her mortgage.

The court found the plaintiff's credibility severely compromised due to numerous inconsistencies, contradictions, and deceptive conduct, including altering a diary entry and making false claims about forged signatures and language proficiency.

The Mareva order was vacated because the underlying facts had substantially changed, the defendant was suffering significant harm, and the balance of convenience favored the defendant.

The plaintiff's motion for a Norwich order was dismissed as moot.

The mortgage held by the defendant Wang was declared legal, valid, and binding, as the plaintiff failed to establish the defence of non est factum or unconscionability, and the unfulfilled conditions were for the lender's benefit.

The mortgagee was granted an order for possession and leave to issue a writ of possession.

The defendants brought a motion requiring the self-represented plaintiff to post security for costs.

The plaintiff resides in China, has no assets in Ontario, and has over $1,000,000 in unpaid judgments from other proceedings.

The court granted the motion, ordering the plaintiff to pay $100,000 in installments.

The court also awarded costs thrown away to one defendant for a motion to strike necessitated by the plaintiff's delay in filing a Notice of Intention to Act in Person.

The Plaintiffs' motion for a Mareva injunction and Norwich order against Defendant Jain was adjourned sine die due to significant procedural missteps by Plaintiffs' counsel.

These missteps included scheduling a long motion on a short motion date, failing to serve all parties as required by Rule 37.07(1), and providing inadequate notice and unhyperlinked materials.

The court found the alleged urgency was self-created and declined an interim order.

Costs were awarded against the Plaintiffs in favour of the appearing Defendants.

The parties were directed to attend Triage Court to schedule a long motion and consider civil case management.

This is a costs endorsement following a series of motions where the defendants (Royal Bank of Canada and others) and a non-party law firm (LD Law) were largely successful against the plaintiff.

The motions concerned a recusal application, a privilege claim regarding a property transfer from the deceased's estate, and a motion to compel the estate trustee to pass accounts.

The court awarded partial indemnity costs to the defendants and full indemnity costs to LD Law, finding the plaintiff's positions meritless and contributing to litigation delay.

The plaintiff's claim of impecuniosity was rejected due to insufficient evidence and the principle that impecuniosity should not allow parties to disregard court rules with impunity.

The Estate of Sulochana Shanthakumar, through its trustee, brought a motion for the judge to recuse himself from hearing a privilege motion and a motion to pass accounts.

The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sought disclosure of the Estate Trustee's real estate lawyer's file and an order for the Estate to pass its accounts.

The court dismissed the recusal motion, finding no reasonable apprehension of bias.

It granted RBC's motion, ruling that the Estate Trustee had implicitly waived solicitor-client privilege over the real estate file by relying on legal advice to explain his conduct regarding the property transfer.

The court also found that RBC, as a judgment creditor, had standing under the Estates Act to compel the passing of the Estate's accounts, and ordered the accounts to be passed.

The plaintiff, an elderly homeowner, brought a motion to continue a Mareva injunction against her contractor, hold the proceeds of the sale of her home in court, and set aside a default judgment obtained by a mortgagee.

She alleged that the defendants conspired to defraud her by charging exorbitant amounts for a home renovation funded by unconscionable high-interest mortgages.

The court found a strong prima facie case of fraud based on the significant discrepancy between the quoted cost and the amount paid for the renovations.

The court continued the Mareva injunction until the contractor posted $500,000 in security, ordered the sale proceeds to remain in court, and set aside the default judgment, allowing the plaintiff to defend the mortgage action on the merits.

At the start of a motion for a Mareva injunction, a journalist requested permission to record the proceeding with his own audio recording device pursuant to s. 136(2)(b) of the Courts of Justice Act.

The court denied the request, finding that while the Consolidated Provincial Practice Direction permits media to use electronic devices for notetaking, this is subject to the presiding judge's discretion under the Act.

Because an official court reporter was present to provide a complete and accurate recording, the court held there was no need for a second recording by the media.

In the context of a complex fraud action, the court previously ordered the sale of a mortgaged property.

The First Mortgagees subsequently brought a motion seeking payment of three months' interest out of the sale proceeds.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it was barred by issue estoppel and constituted a collateral attack on the prior sale order, as the First Mortgagees failed to attend the prior hearing or produce relevant documents.

Furthermore, the court held that the claimed interest amounted to an unenforceable penalty under the Interest Act and granted relief from forfeiture under the Courts of Justice Act.

Costs were awarded to the plaintiffs on a substantial indemnity basis.