Peter Verbeek

The plaintiff mortgagee brought a motion for summary judgment against the defendant mortgagors for default on a second mortgage.

The plaintiff claimed the mortgage was renewed at a higher interest rate and sought various fees.

The defendants disputed the renewal and the propriety of many charges.

The court found the mortgage was not renewed and disallowed most of the plaintiff's claimed charges, including the renewal fee, various administration fees, and a three-month prepayment penalty, citing s. 8(1) of the Interest Act.

The court determined the correct amount to discharge the mortgage based on the original interest rate and allowed only a proper discharge fee.

In a mortgage enforcement action, the defendant mortgagor brought an urgent motion seeking to discharge the plaintiff's mortgages upon payment into court of a reduced amount to be fixed by the court.

The mortgagor had arranged a last-minute sale of the property that would not yield sufficient proceeds to pay the full amount claimed by the mortgagee.

The court declined to schedule an urgent hearing to summarily assess the disputed mortgage amounts, noting the urgency was self-imposed and the mortgagee would be prejudiced by releasing its security without full payment.

The court ordered that discharges be granted only upon payment of the full amounts claimed, with contested amounts to be paid into court or trust.

Following a successful motion for summary judgment in a mortgage enforcement action, the plaintiff sought partial indemnity costs of $22,126.11.

The defendants sought substantial indemnity costs of $101,830.30, arguing the plaintiff prolonged the action by taking an incorrect legal position on the applicable interest rate.

The court found the plaintiff was prima facie entitled to costs but reduced the award to $13,060 because the plaintiff's insistence on an unsustainable interest rate prolonged the proceedings and hindered settlement.

The plaintiff lawyer brought an action for unpaid legal fees totaling $68,893.92 against his former client.

The parties had an oral retainer agreement for mortgage enforcement work.

The defendant disputed the terms of the retainer and the reasonableness of the fees.

The court found that the parties agreed to an hourly rate of $575.

After assessing the accounts and reducing some charges for unreasonableness, the court ordered the defendant to pay $38,342.42 in outstanding fees, plus prejudgment and post-judgment interest.