In this Decision regarding the proper award of Costs to a self-represented litigant, Justice Graesser used his discretion and awarded the victorious party 1/3 of Schedule C Costs, plus reasonable disbursements and GST.

The successful self-represented litigant sought, among other things, double Costs under Rule 4.29 because the opposing party had failed to better his offer of settlement. The losing party relied upon Rule 10.31(5) to argue that the Court should order no more than fraction of Schedule C Costs, if such Costs were appropriate at all, taking into consideration the Costs principles in Rule 10.33.

The Court found it would be rare for Costs in favour of a self-represented litigant to exceed those in Schedule C and found it “difficult if not impossible” to reconcile case law with a self-represented litigant being awarded double Costs under Rule 4.29 or enhanced Costs except in exceptional circumstances. The Court did not award the self-represented litigant double Schedule C Costs.