1511233 Ontario Inc. sued Me Va Me Franchising Inc., its principal, and its landlord, along with the franchise broker and its principal, seeking recission of a franchise agreement and damages.
A settlement was reached with the franchise broker defendants (Settling Defendants) through a Pierringer Agreement, leading to a motion to amend the Statement of Claim and dismiss the crossclaim against them.
Key Points:
Pierringer Agreement: It allows the plaintiffs to reduce their claims to only the portion attributable to the non-settling defendants, dismissing all claims against the Settling Defendants.
Motion to Amend Statement of Claim: Granted without opposition, as no non-compensable prejudice was shown.
Motion to Dismiss Crossclaim: Dismissed due to the extraordinary nature of such a remedy without substantive prejudice shown against the non-settling defendants.
Public Policy and Settlements: The court acknowledged the public policy favoring settlement but noted the Pierringer Agreement did not make the settlement contingent on dismissing the crossclaim.
Analysis of Crossclaim Continuation: The crossclaim extended beyond negligence to include breach of contract, requiring its continuance for trial, differing from situations where only negligence claims are involved.
Costs: Awarded to the non-settling defendants, with shared responsibility between the Settling Defendants and the plaintiffs, aligning with the reasonable expectations of the parties involved.
The costs awarded for the motion were as follows: the Non-Settling Defendants were granted costs of $7,183.41 on a partial indemnity scale, to be paid by the Settling Defendants and the plaintiffs in equal shares.
