Mon-Oil Ltd. v. Canada
T-266-88
Stinson T.O.
12/11/93
34 pp.
Following plaintiff's lawsuit, based on Petroleum Incentives Program Act, plaintiff awarded incentives of $3,203,402.24 plus interest and party and party costs -- Appeal and cross-appeal dismissed by Federal Court of Appeal with costs -- Plaintiff presented bill of costs of $15,050 in fees and $123,150.33 in disbursements -- At taxation, plaintiff's counsel indicated $32,306.63, including all fees, had been settled and paid leaving $105,893.70 in issue -- R. 346(1) specifying basis for taxation -- Potential issues and factors in lawsuit considerable notwithstanding fact some did not need to be raised -- Taxation of costs should not be predicated on hindsight -- Length of some lawsuits and variances of record keeping often result in proof not being absolute -- Rules and Tariffs not expressed in absolute terms but rather in broad or discretionary terms, suggesting evaluation of items against parameters existing other than in absolute terms -- That view not endorsing lax proof nor suggesting taxing parties benefit from less detail for potentially questionable items on hope taxing officer may be liberal with discretion -- Taxing officer evaluating and applying discretion along continuum of proof from obscure to absolute -- Plaintiff's solicitor had to prepare for several problems -- Part of his professional obligation relating thereto would have included recommendation for disbursements for services considered essential -- Manner in which lawsuit unfolded may have rendered said services moot but solicitor would have been remiss, assuming essentiality and reasonableness as givens, in not addressing potential issues with and for client -- Unlikely that plaintiff's solicitor meeting with consultant for superfluous reasons -- Purchased expertise fell outside ordinary expertise of solicitor -- Payment of GST inescapable and if not fee, must be disbursement -- Principle of partial indemnity existing to ensure potential litigants initiating or responding to lawsuits do not shrink from so doing by reason of apprehension of onerous indemnification of costs -- Bill of costs of plaintiff presented at $138,200.33 taxed and allowed at $83,715.75 -- Income Tax Regulations, C.R.C., c. 945, R. 346(1), Tariff B, item 1(2)(b).