Superior Court of Justice - Ontario

COURT FILE NO.: C-1193-08
DATE: 2012-06-20

RE: Ms. Samuray Diler, Plaintiff

AND:
Mr. Dr. David Stanley Heath, Kelly C. Tranquilli

BEFORE: The Honourable Mr. Justice D. A. Broad

COUNSEL:
Samuray Diler, Self-Represented
Kelly C. Tranquilli, for the Defendant

HEARD: June 20, 2012

Costs ENDORSEMENT

[ 1 ] In the Reasons for Judgment released May 22, 2012 I invited the parties to make written submissions with respect to costs. I have now received those submissions, and the following is my ruling with respect to the costs of the motion and the action.

[ 2 ] I agree with counsel for the defendant, Ms. Tranquilli, that, as a matter of general principle, costs are generally awarded to the successful party on the proceeding. In this case the defendant was entirely successful on the motion for summary judgment and the action was dismissed as a result.

[ 3 ] The defendant’s costs outline indicates partial indemnity costs of the motion itself in the sum of $ 24,048.02. In addition to this would be the balance of the costs of defending the action including attendance on the examination for the discovery of the plaintiff and responding to extensive written discovery of the defendant conducted by the plaintiff.

[ 4 ] In spite of the foregoing, the defendant seeks only the sum of $ 5,000.00 in respect of the costs of the motion and the action.

[ 5 ] The plaintiff’s costs submissions unfortunately disclose a fundamental lack of understanding of the applicable principles which apply to the question of costs. Notwithstanding that she lost the motion and action, and that she was self-represented throughout, the plaintiff, in her submissions, appears to seek costs against the defendant in the sum of $65,000.00, which, on the plaintiff’s submissions, encompassed extensive study of medicine and law over an extended period of time.

[ 6 ] In our court system, costs are based on the principle of indemnity, whereby the party who is successful in a proceeding is generally entitled to be indemnified by the losing party for a portion of the costs to which he/she was put in either prosecuting or defending the proceeding. There are exceptions to this general principle, such as where there are offers to settle to be considered, or where the successful party conducted himself or herself in the proceeding in an inappropriate manner. A major goal of the rules respecting costs is to encourage settlement by making the losing party responsible, at least in part, for the costs of the winning party.

[ 7 ] In this case the submission of the defendant that he be awarded costs of the motion and the action in the sum of $ 5,000.00 is more than reasonable. This is particularly so in light of the offer made by the defendant that the action be dismissed without costs, which offer was not accepted by the plaintiff.

[ 8 ] It is therefore ordered that the plaintiff pay costs of the motion and action to the defendant, fixed in the sum of $ 5,000.00.

D. A. Broad J.

Date: June 20, 2012