Rita Benjamin

Three defendants each brought motions to compel the plaintiff railway company to answer questions refused on examination for discovery in an action arising from a 2020 train derailment involving a tanker car with a defective wheelset.

The court assessed relevance and proportionality of the requested questions, ordering the plaintiff to answer 4 of 12 questions sought by the railway manufacturer, 1 of 9 sought by the tanker car owner, and 3 of 4 sought by the shipper.

Costs followed the divided success, with the tanker car owner ordered to pay $5,000 to the plaintiff and the plaintiff ordered to pay $7,500 to the shipper.

The moving party wife sought interim costs and disbursements of $500,000 to fund her family law and oppression remedy claims against the responding party husband, who controlled the family's closely-held corporations.

She also sought temporary spousal support and an order compelling the husband to answer undertakings and refusals from his questioning.

The court awarded $250,000 in interim costs under the OBCA as an advance against her shareholdings, finding her oppression claim had sufficient merit and she lacked liquid resources.

The court also ordered the husband to pay $3,000 per month in temporary spousal support to equalize the parties' net disposable incomes, and compelled him to answer the majority of the outstanding undertakings and refusals.