In my brief essay on loser-pays posted early in the history of this site, I observed: “While some loser-pays jurisdictions suspend the principle [of costs following the event] for what are viewed as true ‘cases of first impression’ where there is no established law, most are skeptical about applying any exemption more liberally, as one sees in this 1996 case from Alberta, Canada.” A belated update on that case, Vriend v. Alberta: on appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the plaintiff in 1998 won his case on the merits (with an award of costs), thus presumably escaping any need to pay costs arising from his “case of first impression” loss at the earlier stage. Thanks to Doris Wilson of the Alberta Law Reform Institute for calling my attention to this.
Update: Canadian loser-pays
In my brief essay on loser-pays posted early in the history of this site, I observed: “While some loser-pays jurisdictions suspend the principle [of costs following the event] for what are viewed as true ‘cases of first impression’ where there is no established law, most are skeptical about applying any exemption more liberally, as one […]
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