Stephanie Mira Ramsay

This decision addresses costs following the dismissal of a class action certification motion.

The defendant, T.E.S. Contract Services Inc. (TES), sought substantial or partial indemnity costs.

The plaintiff, Ann Davidson, argued for no costs or significantly reduced costs, asserting the case was a test case, raised novel issues, or concerned public interest.

The court fixed costs on a partial indemnity scale, finding no egregious conduct by the plaintiff.

It rejected the plaintiff's arguments regarding public interest, novel issues, or test case status, and strongly criticized the suggestion that the representative plaintiff might be personally exposed to costs, emphasizing class counsel's duty to indemnify.

The court found TES's requested partial indemnity costs reasonable but deducted amounts related to the plaintiff's successful production motion and the defendant's abandoned motion to strike expert reports.

The plaintiff, Ann Davidson, brought a motion for certification of a proposed class action against T.E.S. Contract Services Inc. (TES), alleging misclassification of workers as independent contractors instead of employees, and seeking benefits under the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

The court dismissed the certification motion, finding no basis in fact for commonality regarding whether a s. 74.3 agreement (temporary help agency assignment) existed between TES and the putative class members, or whether a common law or s. 1(1) employment relationship could be determined on a class-wide basis.

The court concluded that individual inquiries would be required to determine employment status for each class member, as the evidence did not establish systemic commonality.

This decision concerns the costs of a prior motion in an employment class action.

The Plaintiffs brought a motion to settle a Discovery Plan, and the Defendants brought a cross-motion to amend certified common issues.

The court granted the Defendants' motion and dismissed the Plaintiffs' motion.

The Defendants sought substantial indemnity costs, while the Plaintiffs argued for costs in the cause or partial indemnity.

The court awarded the Defendants $29,930.58 on a partial indemnity basis, finding that while the Plaintiffs' proposed discovery plan was "outrageous, abusive, and unfair," their conduct in seeking it was not.

The court also considered that the process of developing the discovery plan, despite the Plaintiffs losing the motion, ultimately benefited them by leading to admissions that could avoid an onerous common issues trial.

The plaintiff, Ann Davidson, brought a pre-certification motion under s. 12 of the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, seeking production of the defendant T.E.S. Contract Services Inc.'s (TES) application for a temporary help agency (THA) licence, along with accompanying documents.

Davidson argued these documents were relevant to the certification motion's common issue of whether class members were misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees, particularly under s. 74.3 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000, which deems workers assigned by THAs as employees.

TES opposed, arguing the application was irrelevant and that s. 74.3 only applies to existing employees.

The court ordered production of the application, subject to redactions for irrelevant parts, finding it relevant to whether TES operated or sought to operate as a THA and the nature of its relationship with workers.

The appellants (defendants at trial) appealed a judgment that awarded damages to the respondent (plaintiff at trial) for breach of a fixed-term independent contractor agreement.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the contract was clear and unambiguous, including the 72-month fixed term and the absence of a termination clause.

However, the Court found that the trial judge erred in holding that independent contractors do not have a duty to mitigate damages, distinguishing them from employees in fixed-term contracts.

Despite this error, the appeal was dismissed because the appellants failed to meet their burden of proving that the respondent did not mitigate his damages.

This is an appeal from a trial judgment awarding damages in lieu of notice for termination from employment.

The appellant challenged the trial judge's assessment of the respondent’s reasonable notice period, entitlement to a bonus payment during the notice period, and the inclusion of disbursements from a mandatory mediation in the costs award.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding no palpable or overriding error in the trial judge's application of Bardal factors or the inclusion of pro-rata bonus entitlement.

The court also affirmed that expenses for mandatory mediation, even with a non-roster mediator, are properly included as disbursements in a costs award.