Court File and Parties
Court File No.: 16-56752 Date: 2016-09-06 Superior Court of Justice – Ontario
Re: Ruth Diane Watson and Elsie May Kranyak, Applicants And: William Alexander McNeice, Respondent
Before: J.A. Ramsay J.
Counsel: Linda Sapiano for the Applicants Respondent in person
Endorsement
[1] On August 3, 2016 I granted the application to enforce a settlement between the executor of an estate and two of the residual heirs: 2016 ONSC 4946. The successful Applicants now ask for costs against the Respondent executor and the estate. They have proven their actual costs by affidavit. The Respondent has not made any submissions as to costs.
[2] The Applicants were successful. Moreover they are entitled to full indemnity with pre-judgment interest somewhat in excess of the statutory rate in order to put them into the position they would have been in if the contract had not been breached and to avoid rewarding the Respondent for delaying in fulfilling his obligations as executor. I fix their actual costs of $24,549.29 to be proven, reasonable and foreseeable. The payments owing under the settlement and the costs are now a debt of the estate. Payment of this debt entitles the Respondent to the residue after he pays the other debts and legacies. Accordingly, the funds which should by now be in the Applicants’ hands shall be distributed as follows:
a. first i. to June Nagy $2,412.90; ii. to Diane Watson $61,668.11 consisting of $47,993.11 as agreed in the minutes of settlement, $1400 prejudgment interest from July 15, 2015 to August 15, 2016 at 2.7% p.a., and $12,275 costs; iii. to Elsie Kranyak $63,308 consisting of $49,582.86 as agreed in the minutes of settlement, $1,450 prejudgment interest on the same basis as Diane Watson, and $12,275 costs; iv. to William McNiece $7,000; v. second to each grandchild $1,500; vi. last to William McNeice the residue. b. The creditors in items i. to iv. have equal priority to one another and in the event of a shortfall shall be paid pro rata. c. The creditors in items i. to iv. have priority over the grandchildren, who in turn have priority over the remaining residual heir. The grandchildren have equal priority to one another and in the event of a shortfall shall be paid equally as among them.
J.A. Ramsay J.