Sonya Diesberger

The respondent sought costs following a one-day appeal.

The court noted the costs claimed were well beyond the usual range and that the respondent's motion to quash the appeal had been dismissed.

Taking into account the complexity, importance of the issues, amount at issue, and the result achieved, the court fixed costs awarded to the respondent at $50,000 inclusive of disbursements and GST.

The plaintiff brought a proposed class action against Dell for allegedly defective notebook computers.

Dell sought to stay the action based on a mandatory arbitration clause in its standard-form sales agreement.

The motion judge refused the stay and certified the class action.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision, finding that the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, which invalidates mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer agreements, applied to the claim because the computers failed after the Act came into force.

The Court also refused to grant a partial stay for non-consumer claims, as doing so would lead to inefficiency and a multiplicity of proceedings.