{"id":6199,"date":"2022-09-21T12:22:33","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T16:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/special-costs-bc-estate-litigation\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:21:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:21:51","slug":"special-costs-bc-estate-litigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.millerthomson.com\/en\/insights\/estate-litigation\/special-costs-bc-estate-litigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Special costs in BC estate litigation: Kolic v. Kolic, 2022 BCSC 1448"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pursuant to the Supreme Court Civil Rules<\/em>, B.C. Reg. 168\/2009, costs during litigation in British Columbia are typically awarded to the successful party at trial. Costs are intended to be at least a partial indemnity for legal fees plus reimbursement for proper out-of-pocket expenses that the successful party incurred as a result of starting (or defending) an action. However, in some instances, if there has been reprehensible conduct during the course of litigation, the court may order that \u201cspecial costs\u201d be paid to the successful party. Special costs are typically higher than ordinary costs, and are meant to approximate actual legal fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the recent case of Kolic v. Kolic<\/em>, 2022 BCSC 1448, the British Columbia Supreme Court evaluated the conduct of the executor throughout the course of the litigation and ultimately determined that special costs were warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the death of their mother, Violet Kolic (the \u201cDeceased<\/strong>\u201d), the four Kolic children (Charles, Mary, Joseph and Angela) were at odds over the Deceased\u2019s estate (the \u201cEstate<\/strong>\u201d). Mary was appointed executor of the Estate, while Charles applied to the court for the Last Will and Testament of the Deceased to be varied but he died during an adjournment of that proceeding. The primary issue in this case in relation to special costs, was the counterclaim filed by Joseph and Angela, who sought judgment against Mary, as executor, for misappropriating funds from the Estate. Ultimately, the counterclaim was successful, and judgment was granted against Mary. Following the judgment, Joseph and Angela subsequently applied for special costs against Mary, as executor, based on her conduct during trial, which included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n