MARITIME LAW |
Practice |
Incremona-Salerno Marmi Affini Siciliani (I.S.M.A.S.) s.n.c. v. Castor (The)
T-2330-00
2004 FC 1047, Stinson A.O.
28/7/04
6 pp.
Plaintiffs claiming damages, other relief arising out of shipment of consignment of polished granite from Italy to Canada--Court ordering Marine Liability Act, s. 46(1) applied on facts, awarding costs against defendants in any event of cause--Defendants associated with ship Katsuragi(Katsuragi defendants) appealing--F.C.A. allowed appeal, declared s. 46(1) did not apply, awarded costs in both Courts to Katsuragi defendants--Katsuragi defendants asserting settlement reached in Germany providing each party to bear own costs, did not preclude entitlement to costs in Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal matters, indeed irrelevant in assessment of costs--In VMC Corp. v. Zodiac Ltd., [1977] 2 F.C. 183 (T.D.), it was said: " taking a `step in a proceeding' involves doing, on the record of the proceeding in the Court, something required by the Rules to be done to advance the proceeding to a conclusion"--Continuum of litigation consisting of steps, shaped by statutes, regulations, practice, and distinct from one another in sense of discrete occurrences, events--That there has been judgment in litigation not meaning subsequent interlocutory occurrences should be different in nature from preceding judgment-- Assessment of costs in these circumstances necessary step, occurrence to crystallize dollar amount of award of costs prior to any step to enforce said award--Latter including disposi-tion of issues such as right to proceed in this jurisdiction--Bill of costs of Katsuragi defendants, presented at $4,649.60, allowed at $3,940.10--Marine Liability Act, S.C. 2001, c. 6, s. 46(1).