Del Giudice v. Thompson Carriage Costs

This is a costs decision. It is an exceptional case. It is exceptional for three reasons. First, it is a request for costs in a carriage motion, i.e., a motion to determine which of two rival consortia of law firms shall have carriage of a class action under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992.1 The rule for carriage motions has been that costs are not awarded, and so the costs request in the immediate case is exceptional. Second, the costs are being claimed by the unsuccessful consortium on the carriage motion, and it is exceptional for any type of motion to award costs to the loser of the motion. Third, in the immediate case, the costs are being claimed against the consortium of law firms and it is exceptional to make lawyers pay costs personally; typically, it is the parties not the lawyers that pay costs.