Court File and Parties

COURT FILE NO.: 4185/17 DATE: 2019-06-18 SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE - ONTARIO

RE: 2462192 ONTARIO LTD., Plaintiff AND: PARAMOUNT FRANCHISE GROUP INC. and MOHAMAD FAKIH, Defendants

AND BETWEEN: PARAMOUNT FRANCHISE GROUP INC., Plaintiff by Counterclaim AND: 2462192 ONTARIO LTD., MAHER OBEID, JASON RAPPAZZO and NADER OBEID, Defendants by Counterclaim

BEFORE: Gray J.

COUNSEL: Peter W.G. Carey and Philip Holdsworth, for the Plaintiff Adam Ship, Nicholas E. Fitz and Helen Fotinos, for the Defendants

Endorsement

[1] In my endorsement, I invited the parties to file written submissions with respect to costs. Those submissions have now been filed.

[2] Counsel for the defendants, the successful parties on the motion, requests costs in the amount of $200,000, inclusive of disbursements and taxes. Counsel submits that this is a significant discount from the defendants’ true partial indemnity costs of $222,826, and from its substantial indemnity costs of $275,440.

[3] Counsel points out that the motion records were 2,700 pages in total, with seven different witnesses giving evidence. Cross-examinations were conducted over six days, with 900 pages of transcript and over 50 exhibits.

[4] Counsel points out that the defendants made two different Offers to Settle which the plaintiff rejected.

[5] Counsel for the plaintiff requests that the costs of the motion be reserved to the trial judge. He submits that work done for the motion will, of necessity, be work that will be required for the trial. The records and transcripts of cross-examinations will, he submits, substantially speed up the trial process.

[6] Counsel for the plaintiff submits that the costs claimed by the defendants are excessive. The plaintiff’s own bill of costs show that its partial indemnity costs are $104,397.18.

[7] I am not persuaded that the costs of the motion should be reserved to the trial judge. The defendants were entirely successful on the motion, and are entitled to costs.

[8] I am inclined to think that the costs claimed by the defendants are excessive. As noted by the plaintiff, their costs are double the costs that would have been claimed by the plaintiff.

[9] In the final analysis, my task is to fix costs that are reasonable in the circumstances: see Boucher v. Public Accountants Council of Ontario (2004), 71 O.R. (3d) 291 (C.A.).

[10] I order that the plaintiff pay costs to the defendants, fixed in the amount of $150,000, all-inclusive, within 30 days.

Gray J. Date: June 18, 2019