Nikoleta Koutsoubos-Giovanoglou

This is a costs endorsement following an appeal where success was divided between the parties.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario determined that, given the divided success, no order of costs would be made for the appeal.

The Court of Appeal for Ontario heard an appeal from a judgment awarding over $2.5 million in damages to a cyclist injured in a collision with a motor vehicle.

The appellants, the driver and the excess insurer, challenged the trial judge's findings on liability, damages, and costs.

The Court dismissed the appeal on liability, future care, deductions, and contingencies, upholding the trial judge's finding that the driver failed to discharge the reverse onus under the Highway Traffic Act.

However, the Court allowed the appeal regarding the past and future loss of income award, finding a palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's calculation of the pre-collision earning capacity by misinterpreting the currency of expert evidence.

The income loss award was varied to adjust the earning capacity figure to 2022 dollars instead of 2012 dollars.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

The respondent denied the benefits, arguing the applicant's injuries fell within the Minor Injury Guideline (MIG) and the $3,500 funding limit had been exhausted.

The applicant claimed removal from the MIG was warranted due to psychological injuries, chronic pain, and a pre-existing right knee condition.

The Tribunal found the applicant failed to meet his burden of demonstrating his injuries fell outside the MIG.

The Tribunal preferred the respondent's psychological assessment over the applicant's, found no objective evidence of chronic pain, and concluded the pre-existing knee condition did not preclude recovery from the accident-related injuries.

The application was dismissed.

The plaintiff brought an urgent motion to conditionally strike the jury notice for a trial scheduled to commence on January 17, 2022, due to COVID-19 pandemic developments suspending jury selections.

The defendants opposed the motion.

The court considered factors such as court resources, local pandemic impact, prejudice to parties (especially the plaintiff due to financial implications and case age), and history of adjournments.

The court granted the plaintiff's motion, ordering that the trial proceed without a jury if juries are not being impaneled, and awarded costs to the plaintiff.

The applicant sought statutory accident benefits following a motor vehicle accident.

After failing to appear at a pre-hearing discussion, the applicant and his legal representative were sent an attendance notice for an in-person hearing.

When the applicant again failed to appear or contact the arbitrator, the arbitration proceeded in his absence pursuant to Rule 37.7 of the Dispute Resolution Practice Code.

As the applicant bore the onus of proving entitlement and presented no evidence, the application was dismissed.

The applicant was ordered to pay the insurer's expenses of $750.00.