SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO
COURT FILE NO.: CV-12-449490
DATE: 20130214
RE: Eastside Apartments Limited and Gus Michalis, Plaintiffs
– AND –
Rachel Loizos, Louis Alexopouls and Sotos LLP, Defendants
BEFORE: Justice E.M. Morgan
COUNSEL: V. William Andreou, for the Plaintiffs
Tanisha G. Tulloch, for the Defendants
HEARD: January 11, 2013
COSTS ENDORSEMENT
[1] On January 25, 2013, I granted summary judgment in this action and invited counsel to make written submissions on costs.
[2] I have now received costs submissions from counsel for the Defendants. Counsel for the Plaintiffs has not responded.
[3] The Defendants request costs on a substantial indemnity scale or, in the alternative, on a partial indemnity scale.
[4] Ms. Tulloch, on behalf of the Defendants, points out that the Defendants were entirely successful in establishing that the Plaintiffs had missed the limitation period for this action. She submits that the Plaintiffs should have recognized this fact themselves and conceded the point. The Defendant’s position, essentially, is that the Plaintiffs’ insistence on pursuing the case and defending the motion for summary judgment caused the Defendants to incur significant costs which should be compensated to the extent possible.
[5] The time and effort that Defendants’ counsel put into this case was necessary and appropriate to the size of the case. Ms. Tulloch presented a well-documented and well-argued motion.
[6] However, being the successful party is not in itself enough to warrant costs on a substantial indemnity basis. The Plaintiffs did nothing here that unduly extended the proceedings or that made them more expensive than they needed to be. It is true that the Plaintiffs lost the case, but they should not face substantial indemnity costs for simply having argued their case, albeit unsuccessfully.
[7] The Defendants’ Costs Outline establishes partial indemnity costs at $34,610.66, inclusive of disbursements and HST. I consider that to be a reasonable level of costs given the length and complexity of the proceeding.
[8] Plaintiffs shall pay the Defendants $34,610.66, all inclusive. As this is a final order in an action that is now dismissed, this amount is payable forthwith.
Morgan J.
Date: February 14, 2013