Tracy Lee Wynne

The moving party brought a motion under Rule 57.07 of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking to hold opposing counsel personally liable for litigation costs allegedly caused by misconduct, including advancing false evidence, suppressing documents, and encouraging clients to give perjured testimony.

The court conducted a detailed review of the history of the litigation and the governing principles for imposing personal cost liability on counsel.

While the court found that counsel had made some serious litigation errors, including failing to properly list privileged documents in an affidavit of documents and mishandling document preservation, it held that the conduct did not cause costs to be incurred without reasonable cause within the meaning of Rule 57.07.

The court emphasized the adversarial nature of civil litigation, the extreme caution required before awarding costs personally against lawyers, and the availability of procedural remedies to address discovery issues.

The motion was dismissed.

On a Commercial List motion, the moving party sought an order under Rule 57.07 of the Rules of Civil Procedure requiring a former solicitor for the opposing parties to personally pay costs of the action on a substantial indemnity basis.

The hearing was scheduled to proceed but the respondent sought an adjournment due to medical issues following recent cardiovascular surgery.

The court granted the adjournment but addressed the issue of costs thrown away resulting from the late notice of the health issue.

The court held that parties must promptly communicate medical conditions that may affect scheduled hearings to reduce unnecessary costs.

Partial indemnity costs of $10,000 were ordered payable by the respondent to compensate the moving party for preparation costs rendered useless by the last‑minute adjournment.