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Civil Litigation - Costs - Nature of Issues. Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company v. Mangat
In Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company v. Mangat (Div Ct, 2022) the Divisional Court considered (and granted) the costs of a separate fraudulent conveyance proceeding as compensable enforcement costs on a judgment:[40] The fraudulent conveyances action was commenced after LawPro had been unsuccessful in its other attempts to enforce the judgment. On the evidence, it was initiated for the very purpose of recovering payment of its judgment. Thus, as a matter of fact, LawPro used the fraudulent conveyances action as an enforcement tool and it appears to have been effective - the action was commenced in April 2017 and in August 2017, the Mangats satisfied the judgment. In these circumstances, I find that the costs of the fraudulent conveyance action were incidental to the enforcement of LawPro’s judgment obtained in the original action against Malkit. I would, therefore, award costs of the fraudulent conveyances action against him as costs of the enforcement of the judgment in this action. . Przyk v. Hamilton Retirement Group Ltd. (The Court at Rushdale)
In Przyk v. Hamilton Retirement Group Ltd. (The Court at Rushdale) (Ont CA, 2021) the Court of Appeal held that the presence of novel issues may justify a no-costs award to a successful party:[35] Rule 57.01 contemplates the court considering the nature, importance, and complexity of issues in exercising its costs discretion. Novel issues arise where there is uncertainty in the law or where the facts make the guidance provided by prior cases inadequate: Fischer v. IG Investment Management Ltd., 2014 ONSC 6260, at paras. 9, 35. A novel issue that involves the public interest can support a no costs order as an exception to the general approach that a successful party will receive their costs: Childs v. Desormeaux (2004), 2004 CanLII 15701 (ON CA), 239 D.L.R. (4th) 61 (Ont. C.A.) at para. 100.
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