Toronto Injury Lawyer Blog
Accidents which take place in Ontario, ought to be commenced in Ontario.
But, it’s not always the case that the Plaintiff resides in Ontario. The Plaintiff can be a visitor to Ontario; or, could have moved from Ontario out of province, or outside of Canada.
When this happens, a Defendant wants some peace of mind knowing that if they win the case at trial, and are then awarded costs; that their costs award can be satisfied. When a Plaintiff lives in Ontario, the Defendant isn’t as concerned with this sort of thing. But, when a Plaintiff resides outside of Ontario, a Defendant has some concerns (rightly or wrongly).
There is a mechanism contained under the Rules of Civil Procedure which call for a Plaintiff to pay money into Court in order to provide security for a potential cost award ordered against them. This is called “Security For Costs” and it’s provided for under Rule 56 of Ontario’s Rules of Civil Procedure. The Defendant will seek permission from the Court in the form of a motion to ask for money to be paid into Court by the Plaintiff to form part of that security. The Judge makes a determination of how much money needs to get paid if an Order for Security for Costs is warranted.
