Court File and Parties

Court of Appeal for Ontario Date: 2024-05-31 Docket: COA-23-CV-0453

Before: Lauwers, van Rensburg and Thorburn JJ.A.

Between: The Estate of Ivo Lepan, by way of his Estate Trustee, Mirjana Lepan Plaintiff/Responding Party (Appellant)

And: Lofranco Chagpar Barristers*, Rocco Carmen Lofranco*, Francis Joseph Burns* and Michael Dewayne Pryce Defendants/Moving Parties (Respondents*)

Counsel: Karl Arvai, for the appellant Jame Pedro, for the respondents

Heard: February 1, 2024

On appeal from the order of Justice Kelly C. Tranquilli of the Superior Court of Justice, dated March 16, 2023, with reasons reported at 2023 ONSC 1766.

Costs Endorsement

[1] The parties requested this court to deal with the costs of the proceeding in the court below from which this court allowed the appeal. The appellant seeks costs of $18,760 on a partial indemnity basis. In aid of this request, the appellant filed an offer to settle for dismissal of the motion without costs.

[2] The respondents submit that a reasonable amount to be paid in costs for the proceeding below would be $6,000, all-inclusive, which was the amount that the parties on consent agreed that the plaintiff/appellant would pay after the lower court granted the respondents’ motion.

[3] The appellant’s submission notes that the costs outline submitted by the respondents in the proceeding below claimed “a total of 33.3 hours but at greatly reduced partial indemnity rates”. The hourly totals were about 34 hours for lawyers and clerks on the part of the respondent, and about 47 hours on the part of the appellant, for a ratio of about 70%. The extra time devoted to the appellant’s cause in the court below is not excessive. We fix costs in the amount of $15,000, all inclusive, to be paid by the respondents to the appellant in respect of the proceedings in the court below.

"P. Lauwers J.A." "K. van Rensburg J.A." "Thorburn J.A."