The Applicants, Xiaoli Lily Wang and Daiming Robert Li, sought permission to appeal the decision of a Chambers Judge granting the appeal of an Assessment Officer’s certification of a bill of costs.

Permission to appeal was required because the decision at issue was a decision “of the Court of King’s Bench sitting as an appeal court under rule... 10.44”, pursuant to Rule 14.5(1)(i). Accordingly, the test considered, in part, the merits of the appeal and whether there was a reasonable chance of success on appeal.

The decision the Applicants sought to appeal granted the Applicants entitlement to information identifying the individuals who performed the legal work billed, and sufficient detail about the work performed. The Court found no merit in the proposed Appeal, emphasizing that the Applicants had already received the substantive relief they sought. It reiterated that appeals are from Orders, not the reasons for them, and found no basis to interfere with speculative concerns about judicial comments, as argued. Accordingly, the Application for permission to appeal was dismissed.