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ARTICLE · 08 JUNE 2015

Informal Settlement Offers And Costs

McLennan Ross LLP
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The Alberta Court of Appeal decision of Chisholm v Lindsay ("Chisholm") released last month was expected to reconsider an earlier Court of Appeal decision (Mahe v Boulianne ("Mahe"))...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James Flanagan
James Flanagan
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The Alberta Court of Appeal decision of Chisholm v Lindsay ("Chisholm") released last month was expected to reconsider an earlier Court of Appeal decision (Mahe v Boulianne ("Mahe")) on how informal settlement offers were to be treated by the Court on the issue of costs.

In Mahe, the plaintiff commenced an action against the defendant after the plaintiff was injured while working on the defendant's farm. The defendant made a settlement offer to pay $500,000 to the plaintiff. The offer was made "without prejudice" but was not a formal settlement offer under the Alberta Rules of Court ("Rules"). It was rejected by the plaintiff. After trial, the plaintiff received a damage award of $365,000. The defendant sought, and was awarded, double costs from the time of the offer based on the informal offer.

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