PRACTICE |
Costs |
Porto Seguro Companhia de Seguros Gerais v. Federal Danube (The)
T-2057-85
2001 FCT 1286, Lemieux J.
23/11/01
10 pp.
Defendants requesting lump sum award of $150,000 in lieu of assessed taxable costs pursuant to Federal Court Rules, 1998, r. 400(4)--At end of eight-day trial, action for damages against defendants on account of collision between two large ocean-going bulk carriers dismissed with costs--Damages, with accrued interest, totalling $10 million--Lump sum award sought equivalent to approximately 60 per cent of solicitor-client costs--Defendants completely successful at trial-- Legal issues not complex; dependent upon finding of fact whether defendant ship at anchor when collision occurred--However factual determination not easy as involving consideration of host of technical maritime navigational and naval architectural issues, weighing testimony of six experts--But complexity of legal issues in litigation, rather than technology involved, should be considered in increasing scale of costs--Nature of expert factual evidence on navigational and naval architectural issues as well as structure of new trial itself generated volumes of work in trial preparation, during trial and post-trial justifying moving beyond Column III--Defendants not making out case for increase based on conduct of plaintiff--New expert reports had to be filed to take into account testimony of navigators at original trial--Clashing theories of plaintiff's experts not material to decision and alone cannot justify increase--Court not agreeing plaintiff had no case--But only in most exceptional case should Court depart from Tariff B in award of party-and-party costs: Apotex Inc. v. Wellcome Foundation Ltd. (1998), 84 C.P.R. (3d) 303 (F.C.T.D.)--Defendants' request for lump sum amount beyond Tariff B refused-- Defendants' bill of costs fixed at upper end of Column IV of Tariff B, given amount involved, complexity of factual issues, nature of work involved, that party-and-party costs should bear reasonable relationship to actual costs of litigation-- Federal Court Rules, 1998, SOR/98-106, r. 400(4).