Aga v. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada
The Court confirmed the January 8, 2020 judgment setting aside dismissal and amended the costs relief: it vacated the motions judge's general costs order and awarded the appellants costs limited to the summary judgment motion in the amount of $5,447.39 as reasonable and payable to the appellants.
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2020 ONCA 421
- Parties
- Appellant: Teshome Aga; Appellant: Yoseph Beyene; Appellant: Dereje Goshu; Appellant: Tseduke Gezaw; Appellant: Belay Hebest; Respondent: Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada (also known as St. Mary Cathedral); Respondent: Mesale Enegada; Respondent: Abune Dimetros; Respondent: Hiwot Bekele
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 25 June 2020
- Procedural Posture
- Civil Appeal From Summary Judgment / Appeal From Summary Judgment Dismissal; Addendum Addressing Costs Order Variation
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed in part; previous dismissal set aside; motions judge's costs order vacated; costs for summary judgment motion awarded to appellants; costs of appeal awarded to appellants as agreed.
- Legal Topics
- Summary Judgment, Costs of Proceedings, Variation of Costs Order
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Teshome Aga
Appellant
Yoseph Beyene
Appellant
Dereje Goshu
Appellant
Tseduke Gezaw
Appellant
Belay Hebest
Appellant
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada (also known as St. Mary Cathedral)
Respondent
Mesale Enegada
Respondent
Abune Dimetros
Respondent
Hiwot Bekele
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Civil Appeal From Summary Judgment / Appeal From Summary Judgment Dismissal; Addendum Addressing Costs Order Variation
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Court should vary the reversal of the motion judge's costs order
- 2 Whether costs awarded by the motions judge included costs of the action beyond the summary judgment motion
- 3 What quantum of costs is appropriate for the summary judgment motion
Ratio Decidendi
The Court confirmed the January 8, 2020 judgment setting aside dismissal and amended the costs relief: it vacated the motions judge's general costs order and awarded the appellants costs limited to the summary judgment motion in the amount of $5,447.39 as reasonable and payable to the appellants.
Court Disposition
Appeal allowed in part; previous dismissal set aside; motions judge's costs order vacated; costs for summary judgment motion awarded to appellants; costs of appeal awarded to appellants as agreed.
Orders
- Dismissal entered by the motions judge is set aside.
- Costs of the appeal in the amount of $5,000 ordered to the appellants (agreed).
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Aga v. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2020-06-25 Neutral citation 2020 ONCA 421 Docket numbers C66733 Judges van Rensburg, Katherine; Paciocco, David M.; Thorburn, Julie Subject Civil Decision Content COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO CITATION: Aga v. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada, 2020 ONCA 421 DATE: 20200625 DOCKET: C66733 van Rensburg, Paciocco and Thorburn JJ.A. BETWEEN Teshome Aga, Yoseph Beyene, Dereje Goshu, Tseduke Gezaw and Belay Hebest Plaintiffs (Appellants) and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada, also known as St. Mary Cathedral, and Mesale Enegada, and Abune Dimetros and Hiwot Bekele Defendants (Respondents) Anthony Colangelo, for the appellants Gordon E. Wood, for the respondents Heard: in writing On appeal from the order of Justice Sandra Nishikawa of the Superior Court of Justice, dated February 26, 2019. Thorburn J.A.: ADDENDUM [1] The appellants, Teshome Aga, Yoseph Beyene, Dereje Goshu, Tseduke Gezaw, and Belay Hebest (“the appellants”), are five former members of the congregation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada St. Mary Cathedral. They appealed the granting of a motion for summary judgment dismissing their claim. [2] For reasons released on January 8, 2020, the appeal was granted and dismissal of the claim was set aside. [3] This court ordered costs of the appeal to the appellants in the amount of $5,000, as agreed by the parties. This court also ordered that the costs order of the motions judge be reversed. [4] The motions judge ordered costs to the respondent in the amount of $25,000. (The respondent submitted a bill of costs in the amount of $45,000.) [5] Counsel for the respondent seeks to vary the reversal of the motion judge’s costs order only. [6] The respondent notes that the motion judge not only granted the motion for summary judgment but in doing so dismissed the action. He submits therefore that there are costs of the action that are unrelated to the motion for summary judgment. Since the action will proceed and the issues in the action have yet to be resolved, those costs should not be payable. We agree. [7] On March 11, 2020, the appellant advised that his costs for preparing and arguing the summary judgment and disbursements related thereto only are $5447.39. This includes scheduling the summary judgment motion, delivery of affidavits, cross-examinations, disbursements for items such as transcripts, and argument before the motions judge. [8] This sum is reasonable when viewed in the context of the preparation required, the steps taken and the respondent’s own bill of costs. [9] In view of the above, the judgment of January 8, 2020 is amended to confirm that the costs order of the motions judge be vacated and that costs of the summary judgment motion in the amount of $5447.39 are payable to the appellant. Released: June 25, 2020 (“K.M.v.R.”) “J.A. Thorburn J.A.” “I agree. K. van Rensburg J.A.” “I agree. David M. Paciocco J.A.”