COURT FILE NO.: CV-19-614817
DATE: 20201007
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
GREGORY KOGAN
Plaintiff
– and –
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Defendant
Gregory Kogan on his own behalf
Robert A. Centa and Denise Cooney, for the defendant
READ: October 6, 2020
F.L. Myers J.
[1] By order dated September 16, 2020 I struck out the plaintiff’s statement of claim under Rule 21. The defendant seeks costs of $500.
[2] The defendant explains its request in its costs outline as follows:
As set out above, the University’s actual fees in relation to this matter were over $10,000. The University is sensitive to the circumstances of the plaintiff and, therefore, only seeks a modest award of only $500 The University seeks a modest award that is not punitive, but which partially recognizes the costs and resources necessary to respond to this claim.
[3] Mr. Kogan responded by seeking the cancellation of the decision. He left no doubt that he disagrees with it completely and intends to have it duly reviewed. He responds to the costs request only in two sentences as follows:
And I don’t have any money to pay the University of Toronto – a victim of tortures should never pay the executioners! Even the Nazis didn’t dare to compel Jews to pay for the inhuman suffering they inflicted on them, but, contrarily, Germany now pays Jews!
[4] The normative approach to costs in Ontario is that the unsuccessful party is generally required to indemnify the successful party for a portion of its costs. The court will look at the amount of the costs sought to ensure that they are reasonable. The court will consider the issue specifically from the perspective of what the unsuccessful party ought reasonably to have expected to pay. A party’s ability to pay can be considered as a factor in some cases. But, a lack of resources is not license to bring unsuccessful proceedings without consequence.
[5] In this case, the defendant was completely successful. I noted in my endorsement that I would have struck out the statement of claim even if I had not dismissed the action. The defendant was compelled to spend significant funds to respond to a very defective claim involving extreme allegations. In my view, its request for a token costs award is very reasonable. Mr. Kogan should understand that invoking the civil legal system requires others to spend money and carries a concomitant has costs risk.
[6] Therefore, Mr. Kogan shall pay the University of Toronto costs on a partial indemnity basis of $500 within 60 days.
F.L. Myers J.
Released: October 7, 2020
COURT FILE NO.: CV-19-614817
DATE: 20201007
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
GREGORY KOGAN
Plaintiff
– and –
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
Defendant
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
F.L. Myers J.
Released: October 7, 2020