Court of Appeal for Ontario
Citation: S.B. v. J.M., 2020 ONCA 814 Date: 2020-12-17 Docket: M51692
Before: Doherty, Nordheimer and Harvison Young JJ.A.
Between:
S.B. Moving Party
and
J.M. Responding Party
Counsel: S.B., acting in person Adam Prewer, for the responding party
Heard: in writing
Reasons for Decision
[1] The moving party seeks an order extending the time to seek leave to appeal from a costs award of $40,000 made in the Superior Court of Justice.
[2] We dismiss the motion on the basis that this court does not have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The costs award arises from an unsuccessful motion by the moving party to remove Epstein Cole as counsel for the respondent. An order dismissing a motion to remove solicitors of record for a party is an interlocutory order: Sun Life Assurance Co. v. York Ridge Developments Ltd. (1998), 1998 CanLII 4519 (ON CA), 116 O.A.C. 103; Aptowitzer v. Ontario (1995), 1995 CanLII 854 (ON CA), 26 O.R. (3d) 254 (C.A.). The costs order arising from that motion is equally interlocutory as its status is drawn from the predicate order: White v. Garrow, [2011] O.J. No. 6482 (C.A.); Godard v. Godard, 2015 ONSC 3114 (Div. Ct.). Interlocutory orders of a Superior Court judge are appealable only to the Divisional Court with leave: Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 19(1)(b). We would add that, even if the costs order were treated as separate and apart from the predicate order, it would still only be appealable to the Divisional Court since the amount in issue is not more than $50,000: Courts of Justice Act, s. 19(1.2)(a).
[3] The responding party is entitled to the costs of the motion fixed in the amount of $3,000 inclusive of disbursements and HST.
"Doherty J.A."
"I.V.B. Nordheimer J.A." "Harvison Young J.A."