Rocco Ruso

A costs decision arising from interim motions in a condominium governance dispute between an owners’ group and the condominium corporation’s board of directors.

The court had previously ordered that an annual general meeting be held and later addressed a further urgent motion concerning voting eligibility for owners in arrears due to a disputed special assessment.

Applying Rule 57.01 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the court assessed costs only for work directly related to the August attendance, awarding partial indemnity costs of $5,500 payable by the condominium corporation.

The court declined to award costs for the later attendance, finding the motion misguided because the relief granted had not been sought in the filed materials.

The defendant general contractor brought a motion to set aside a noting in default and default judgment obtained by the plaintiff subcontractor in a construction lien action.

The plaintiff had served the statement of claim by registered mail to an address it knew the defendant no longer occupied, despite knowing the defendant's actual business address.

The court found the defendant moved promptly upon learning of the default judgment, adequately explained the default due to the method of service, and provided sufficient evidence of a defence based on alleged deficiencies and the lien being registered out of time.

The motion was granted and the default judgment was set aside with no order as to costs.

The moving party sought to set aside a default judgment obtained by the plaintiff bank.

The court applied the established three-part test requiring the defendant to show an arguable defence on the merits, a reasonable explanation for the default, and prompt action to set aside the judgment.

The court found the moving party failed to explain its failure to defend the action despite prior knowledge of the proceedings and advice to obtain legal counsel.

The affidavit evidence also failed to address alternative claims pleaded in the statement of claim, leaving no arguable defence.

The motion was dismissed and the default judgment remained in place.