Edited by Amanda Kostek
Last week’s Court Rulings from the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, Court of Appeal and SCC.
RN Cardium Oil Inc v Loyal Energy (Canada) Operating Ltd, 2026 ABKB 404
Scale of Costs Award
The Court directed that enhanced costs were warranted for litigation misconduct including the following:
- Commencing the action with a Statement of Claim, which triggered more complex litigation steps where the issue in dispute was statutory interpretation and could have been addressed by an Originating Application;
- Pleading dishonesty and bad faith, breach of trust, and unjust enrichment as well as seeking wildly inflated damages;
- Offering no evidence to support allegation impugning the reputation of another party.
As a result of the foregoing, and other litigation misconduct, the Court awarded 85% of solicitor client costs.