Reine Elizabeth Borowski Reynolds

The plaintiff commenced an action for personal injuries two years and two days after a motor vehicle accident, leading the defendants to plead that the action was statute-barred.

The Hertz defendants brought a motion for summary judgment on the limitation period issue.

The plaintiff's counsel did not file materials or appear at the motion.

The court proceeded with the motion, finding no genuine issue for trial, and granted summary judgment, dismissing the action as statute-barred.

Costs were awarded to the Hertz defendants.

Following a 23-day trial that originated as a contested passing of accounts, the unsuccessful plaintiff was ordered to pay costs.

The defendants sought substantial or full indemnity costs based on unproven allegations of breach of trust and unaccepted offers to settle.

The court declined to award elevated costs, finding the allegations did not amount to fraud and the plaintiff was entitled to a trial.

The court fixed partial indemnity costs, significantly reducing claims for travel expenses, expert fees, and excessive trial preparation time, ultimately ordering the plaintiff to pay a total of $721,450 in costs to the various defendants.

The plaintiff, a residual beneficiary of her father's estate, brought an action against the estate trustee, the estate's lawyers and accountants, and the purchasers of the deceased's shares in a family business.

The plaintiff alleged that the estate trustee breached her fiduciary duty by selling the shares without authorization and at an undervalue, and raised numerous objections on the passing of accounts.

The court found that the will authorized the sale of the shares, the estate trustee acted reasonably, and the shares were sold for fair market value.

The claims against all defendants were dismissed.

On the passing of accounts, the court fixed the estate trustee's compensation but reduced it to account for legal and accounting fees that were properly characterized as executor's work.

Following the settlement of a motor vehicle accident claim on the eve of trial, the court was asked to approve the settlement of a Family Law Act claim for a party under a disability and to fix costs.

The court approved the FLA settlement at $30,000 plus interest.

On the issue of costs, the court held that the plaintiff was entitled to claim time spent recovering accident benefits as part of the tort action costs, as the two are inextricably linked.

The court fixed the plaintiff's costs at $100,000 for fees and $44,534.29 for disbursements on a partial indemnity basis, and awarded interest on the delayed settlement funds.