Costs decision following a successful application for a passing of accounts in an estate matter.
The court reaffirmed that the modern approach to estate litigation costs applies the general civil litigation principle that the loser pays, subject to Rule 57 and limited exceptions.
The respondent rejected a reasonable Offer to Settle and conducted the litigation in a manner that unnecessarily complicated a relatively straightforward estate dispute.
As a result, the court ordered partial indemnity costs up to the date of the offer and substantial indemnity costs thereafter.
Additional reimbursement was also ordered for an unnecessary banking expense debited from the estate account.
