Raymond Bruce Boyden

This costs endorsement followed a decision to strike a third-party claim brought by the defendants against the plaintiff's lawyers.

The court found that the third-party claim, alleging breach of settlement privilege, did not plead a reasonable cause of action, as settlement privilege is a rule of evidence, not a basis for a lawsuit.

The court characterized the claim as an abuse of process and reprehensible litigation conduct.

Consequently, the third parties (plaintiff's lawyers) were awarded substantial indemnity costs, fixed at $23,500, as the court deemed the amount fair, reasonable, and proportional given the circumstances and the defendants' persistence in an improper claim.

The defendants commenced a third-party claim against the plaintiffs' lawyers, alleging they improperly pleaded information protected by settlement privilege.

The plaintiffs' lawyers moved to strike the third-party claim.

The court granted the motion, finding no cause of action exists to sue opposing counsel for litigation conduct, and that such a claim is an abuse of process.

The court affirmed the doctrine of absolute privilege protects participants in litigation from such lawsuits, distinguishing it from a client suing their own lawyer for negligence.

The proper remedy for improper pleadings is to strike the offending passages, not to sue opposing counsel.