Decision Date: July 11, 2000

Panel: Toby Vigod

Keywords: Environment Management Act – s. 11(14.2); Environmental Appeal Board Procedure Manual; Supreme Court Rules – Rule 57; application for costs; special costs; abuse of process; Roberts v. College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia

This was an application by the Assistant Regional Waste Manager for his costs in relation to the appeal by Delta Shake & Shingle (1989) Ltd. and 429155 British Columbia Ltd. on the grounds that the Appellants failed to attend the appeal hearing. The Assistant Manager asked the Board to award him special costs or, alternatively, costs on a party-and-party basis at Scale 3 of the Rules of Court. He also asked that the Appellants be made jointly and severally liable for his costs.

The Board found that the failure of the Appellants to attend the hearing after being properly served with a “notice of hearing”, and after advising the Board office that they would be in attendance, warranted an award of costs against them. The Board also found that the Appellants’ conduct warranted an award of special costs in the sum of $2,109.75, and that the Appellants were jointly and severally liable for these costs. Due solely to the fact that the Board did not specifically request submissions on whether it should recover its expenses, the Board declined to order the Appellant to pay the Board’s expenses. The application for costs was allowed.