Sophie Arseneault

The plaintiff, Margaret Godard, sought partial indemnity costs after settling her claim against Intelcom Courier Canada Inc. for $70,000, four days before trial.

The court was tasked with fixing costs, applying Rule 57 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, rather than Rule 58, as the parties had agreed to have costs fixed by a judge.

The court considered the principle of indemnity, reasonable expectations, and proportionality.

It found the plaintiff's costs claim to be reasonable overall, with a minor deduction of $497.17 for expert travel expenses that were not incurred.

The court fixed costs at $70,000, inclusive of HST and disbursements, finding this amount struck an appropriate balance given the circumstances, including Intelcom's late acceptance of the settlement offer and its conduct during litigation.

The appellant, Garfield Anthony Hibbert, appealed an order from the Superior Court of Justice that struck out his statement of claim and dismissed his action.

This was the fourth action he had commenced regarding a dispute over a $9,500 deposit into a tax-free savings account (TFSA) in 2012, after a Small Claims Court action was dismissed (and not appealed), a second Small Claims Court action was commenced, and two subsequent Superior Court actions were dismissed under Rule 2.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure as vexatious.

The Court of Appeal found the current appeal to also be frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of process under Rule 2.1, as the appellant was repeatedly re-litigating the same issues.

The appellant appealed the trial judge's decision dismissing his action for wrongful dismissal against his former employer, the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, and for inducing breach of contract against Jason Dupuis, the principal of École secondaire catholique Garneau.

The appellant had worked as a cultural animator since March 7, 2005 and received positive evaluations until 2008.

Thereafter, he received four formal progressive disciplinary measures and numerous warnings for defiant attitude, refusal to perform assigned tasks, and unprofessional conduct.

The trial judge found the employer had just cause for dismissal.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, finding no palpable and overriding error in the trial judge's factual findings and credibility assessments.

Donald Schultz, a director at Canada Lands Company CLC, was terminated with cause for alleged misconduct during procurement processes.

The court found that while some of Schultz's actions were inappropriate (e.g., providing a draft recommendation memo with confidential competitor information, attending social events with proponents during procurement), they did not constitute misconduct severe enough to warrant termination with cause, especially considering mitigating factors such as tight timelines, the employer's inconsistent policy enforcement, and lack of proper investigation.

The court awarded Schultz 12 months' reasonable notice, benefits, and a portion of his bonus, but denied moral and punitive damages.