Legal Blog

Elevated Costs as Punishment

N Drive Navigation Systems, S.A. v. Zhou 2021 Ont SCJ

In the action, the judge held that the defendant breached fiduciary duties and improperly withheld money that he was to have paid to the plaintiff. The judge also awarded punitive damages and dismissed the defendant’s counterclaim of fraud. The judge reviewed all of the costs factors and all of the defendant’s obstructionist tactics in dealing with the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion and awarded costs of $230,000, presumably on a substantial indemnity basis.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.