P. James Zibarras

Following the dismissal of an action and related summary judgment proceedings, the successful defendants sought substantial partial indemnity costs against the plaintiffs.

The court considered the factors under Rule 57.01(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure and assessed the reasonableness of the claimed fees, hourly rates, and the nature of work performed.

The court emphasized that costs awards should relate to steps authorized by the rules and excluded various client communications and strategic consultations that were not directly tied to procedural steps in the litigation.

Significant reductions were applied to certain categories of claimed work, including general preparation and work associated with abandoned or unnecessary motions.

The court ultimately fixed global cost awards payable by the plaintiffs to each set of defendants.

The plaintiffs sued the defendant law firm for professional negligence arising from advice given during a share purchase transaction.

The plaintiffs alleged the law firm failed to properly advise them on the risks associated with a pending wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the target company, resulting in a liability that exceeded the negotiated indemnity.

The defendant law firm moved for summary judgment to dismiss the action.

The court granted the motion, finding that the plaintiffs failed to establish a breach of the standard of care without expert evidence, and failed to prove that the alleged negligent advice caused their damages.

The plaintiffs and defendants, two brothers and their respective holding companies, engaged in a complex corporate divorce involving a transportation business, ProNorth.

The court determined that the brothers were equal 50/50 shareholders in the holding company, rejecting the defendant's claim of a 62/38 split.

The court found the defendant brother engaged in oppressive conduct by wrongfully excluding the plaintiff from a shareholders' meeting and removing him as a director.

As a remedy, the court ordered the defendant to purchase the plaintiff's shares at a fair value of $4,455,000, based on an en bloc valuation of $8.91 million.

The court also resolved disputes over several jointly owned properties, ordering the defendant to purchase the plaintiff's interests in properties used by the business, and directing the partition and sale of others.

The court awarded the plaintiff $180,000 in damages for exclusion from management, offset by $105,000 awarded to the company for the plaintiff's wrongful detention of a corporate aircraft.

Finally, the court found the company's accountant breached his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff by swearing an affidavit contrary to the corporate records, awarding nominal damages of $100.