Court of Appeal for Ontario

Date: 2025-03-18
Docket: COA-24-CV-0207
Coram: Peter Lauwers, David Brown, Steve Coroza

Between

Zexi Li, Happy Goat Coffee Company Inc., 7983794 Canada Inc. (c.o.b. as Union: Local 613) and Geoffrey Devaney
Plaintiffs (Respondents)

and

Chris Barber, Benjamin Dichter, Tamara Lich, Patrick King, James Bauder, Brigitte Belton, Daniel Bulford, Dale Enns, Chad Eros, Chris Garrah, Miranda Gasior, Joe Janzen, Jason Laface, Tom Marazzo, Ryan Mihilewicz, Sean Tiessen, Nicholas St. Louis (a.k.a. @NobodyCaribou), Freedom 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms, GiveSendGo LLC, Jacob Wells, Harold Jonker, Jonker Trucking Inc., and Brad Howland
Defendants (Appellants)

Proceeding under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992

Counsel:

• James Manson and Chris Fleury, for the appellants Chris Barber, Tamara Lich, Daniel Bulford, Dale Enns, Miranda Gasior, Tom Marazzo, Ryan Mihilewicz, Sean Tiessen, Freedom 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms, Harold Jonker, Jonker Trucking Inc., and Brad Howland
• Shelley Overwater, for the appellants Patrick King and Joe Janzen
• Reidar Mogerman and Christine Johnson, for the respondents

Heard: 2024-10-28

On appeal from the order of Regional Senior Justice Calum U. C. MacLeod of the Superior Court of Justice, dated February 5, 2024, with reasons reported at 2024 ONSC 775.

Costs Endorsement

[1] As requested, the parties have filed cost submissions.

[2] The respondents seek their costs of the appeal on a partial indemnity basis in the amount of $29,203.20.

[3] The appellants submit that the court should not award any costs against them on the basis that the case involves public interest litigation. In the alternative, the appellants argue that in the event costs of the appeal are awarded against them, such costs should be fixed in the amount of $10,000, payable in the cause of the underlying proceeding.

[4] Both parties agree that if costs of the appeal are awarded in favour of the respondents, responsibility for their payment should be apportioned on the following basis: 90% of the costs should be payable by the appellants represented by Mr. James Manson and Mr. Chris Fleury; 10% of the costs should be payable by the appellants represented by Ms. Shelley Overwater.

[5] The respondents were wholly successful in opposing the appeal. We see no reason why in those circumstances costs should not follow the result of the appeal. Consequently, we award the respondents their costs of the appeal fixed in the amount of $20,000, inclusive of disbursements and applicable taxes, payable within 30 days of the date of this order. Responsibility for the payment of such costs is apportioned amongst the appellants as follows: the appellants represented by Mr. Manson and Mr. Fleury shall pay 90% of the costs; those represented by Ms. Overwater shall pay 10% of the costs awarded.

“P. Lauwers J.A.”
“David Brown J.A.”
“S. Coroza J.A.”