Nova Scotia (Ombudsman) v. Conseil Scolaire Acadien
Because the issue was resolved legislatively the court declined to award costs of the appeal; however the Ombudsman’s counsel failed to respond to registry inquiries and failed to appear at the Registrar's motion, and therefore the court exercised its discretion to award costs of the Registrar's Chambers appearance...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2005 NSCA 29
- Parties
- Appellant: Ombudsman of Nova Scotia; Respondent: Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial; Respondent: Attorney General of Nova Scotia
- Court
- Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 16 February 2005
- Procedural Posture
- Appeal / Registrar's Motion in Chambers; Appeal Heard in Chambers and Dismissed
- Outcome
- Appeal dismissed; no costs awarded for the appeal; Ombudsman ordered to pay costs of the Registrar's Chambers appearance to Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial in the amount of $350.00 inclusive of disbursements, payable forthwith.
- Legal Topics
- Registrar's Motion to Dismiss, Costs Order, Mootness Due to Legislative Change, Ombudsman Appeal
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Ombudsman of Nova Scotia
Appellant
Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial
Respondent
Attorney General of Nova Scotia
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Registrar's Motion in Chambers; Appeal Heard in Chambers and Dismissed
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether costs of the appeal should be awarded when the underlying issue was resolved by legislative change
- 2 Whether costs of a Registrar's motion to dismiss should be awarded against a party who failed to appear and failed to update the court
- 3 Whether failure to appear justifies an order for costs despite no costs being awarded for the appeal
Ratio Decidendi
Because the issue was resolved legislatively the court declined to award costs of the appeal; however the Ombudsman’s counsel failed to respond to registry inquiries and failed to appear at the Registrar's motion, and therefore the court exercised its discretion to award costs of the Registrar's Chambers appearance to the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial in the fixed amount of $350.00 payable forthwith.
Court Disposition
Appeal dismissed; no costs awarded for the appeal; Ombudsman ordered to pay costs of the Registrar's Chambers appearance to Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial in the amount of $350.00 inclusive of disbursements, payable forthwith.
Orders
- Appeal dismissed.
- No costs awarded for the appeal.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Nova Scotia (Ombudsman) v. Conseil Scolaire Acadien Court Court of Appeal Date 2005-02-16 Citation 2005 NSCA 29 Docket CA 202999 Judge/Registrar/Adjudicator Cromwell, Thomas A. (Honourable Justice) Document Type Decision Decision Content NOVA SCOTIA COURT OF APPEAL Citation: Nova Scotia (Ombudsman) v. Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial, 2005 NSCA 29 Date: 20050216 Docket: CA 202999 Registry: Halifax Between: Ombudsman of Nova Scotia Appellant v. Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial, and The Attorney General of Nova Scotia Respondents Judges: The Honourable Justice Thomas Cromwell Application Heard: January 27, 2005, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Chambers Held: Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial awarded costs of Registrar’s motion to dismiss. Counsel: Appellant not appearing Jason McQuaid, for the respondent, Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial Edward Gores, for the respondent, Attorney General of Nova Scotia Reasons for judgment: [1] This matter was before me in Chambers February 5 on the Registrar’s motions list. No one appeared on behalf of the Ombudsman. I dismissed the appeal and counsel for the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial requested costs of the appeal. I provided an opportunity to the Ombudsman and to counsel for the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial to make written submissions as to costs. I have now received and reviewed those submissions. [2] In my view, there should be no costs of the appeal awarded. As I understand it, the issue which was to be brought to the court has now been resolved legislatively. While all parties have been put to what has proved to be needless expense, it is in my view not appropriate to visit that upon the Ombudsman. [3] However, there ought to be costs of the Registrar’s motion. Counsel for the Ombudsman was asked for an update on the status of this matter in November and nothing was forthcoming. A Registrar’s motion to dismiss was then served and counsel for the Ombudsman did not appear in Chambers on the return date of that application. Counsel for the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial did attend. It would seem that in light of the legislative changes, the appeal became unnecessary and it would have been more reasonable for counsel for the Ombudsman to simply so advise the Court and abandon the appeal rather than doing nothing which resulted in two other counsel needlessly appearing in Chambers. [4] I will, therefore, order the Ombudsman to pay costs of the Chambers appearance to the Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial fixed in the amount of $350.00 inclusive of disbursement and payable forthwith. Cromwell, J.A.