Federal Courts Rules

Counsel Fees and Disbursements Allowable on Assessment

• Marginal note:Bill of costs

  • 1 (1) A party seeking an assessment of costs in accordance with this Tariff shall prepare and file a bill of costs.

  • Marginal note:Content of bill of costs

    (2) A bill of costs shall indicate the assessable service, the column and the number of units sought in accordance with the table to this Tariff and, where the service is based on a number of hours, shall indicate the number of hours claimed and be supported by evidence thereof.

  • Marginal note:Disbursements

    (3) A bill of costs shall include disbursements, including

    • (a) payments to witnesses under Tariff A; and

    • (b) any service, sales, use or consumption taxes paid or payable on counsel fees or disbursements allowed under this Tariff.

  • Marginal note:Evidence of disbursements

    (4) No disbursement, other than fees paid to the Registry, shall be assessed or allowed under this Tariff unless it is reasonable and it is established by affidavit or by the solicitor appearing on the assessment that the disbursement was made or is payable by the party.

• Marginal note:Calculation

  • 2 (1) On an assessment, the assessment officer shall determine assessable costs by applying the formula

    A × B + C

    where

    A

    is

    • (a) the number of units allocated to each assessable service, or

    • (b) where the service is based on a number of hours, the number of units allocated to that service multiplied by the number of hours;

    B

    is the unit value as established in section 3 and adjusted in accordance with section 4; and

    C

    is the amount of assessable disbursements.

  • Marginal note:Fractional amounts

    (2) On an assessment, an assessment officer shall not allocate to a service a number of units that includes a fraction.

• Marginal note:Unit value

  3 The unit value as at January 1, 1998 is $100.

• Marginal note:Adjustment of unit value

  • 4 (1) On April 1 in each year, the Chief Justices of the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court, in consultation with one another, shall adjust the unit value by multiplying it by the amount determined by the formula

    A/B × 100

    where

    A

    is the Consumer Price Index for all items for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, in respect of December of the preceding year; and

    B

    is the Consumer Price Index for all items for Canada, as published by Statistics Canada under the authority of the Statistics Act, in respect of December 1994.

  • Marginal note:Rounding of result

    (2) Where a calculation under subsection (1) results in an amount that is not evenly divisible by 10, the resulting amount shall be

    • (a) where it is less than 100, rounded to the next higher amount that is evenly divisible by 10; and

    • (b) where it is greater than 100, rounded to the next lower amount that is evenly divisible by 10.

  • Marginal note:Communication of adjusted unit value

    (3) The Chief Justices shall without delay communicate adjustments to the unit value made under subsection (1) to their respective courts and to their assessment officers.

    Item	Assessable Service	Number of Units
    		Column I	Column II	Column III	Column IV	Column V
    	A Originating documents and Other Pleadings
    1	Preparation and filing of originating documents, other than a notice of appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal, and application records.	1 - 3	2 - 5	4 - 7	5 - 9	7 - 13
    2	Preparation and filing of all defences, replies, counterclaims or respondents’ records and materials.	1 - 3	2 - 5	4 - 7	5 - 9	7 - 13
    3	Amendment of documents, where the amendment is necessitated by a new or amended originating document, pleading, notice or affidavit of another party.	1 - 2	1 - 4	2 - 6	3 - 7	4 - 8
    	B Motions
    4	Preparation and filing of an uncontested motion, including all materials.	1 - 2	1 - 3	2 - 4	2 - 5	2 - 6
    5	Preparation and filing of a contested motion, including materials and responses thereto.	1 - 3	2 - 5	3 - 7	4 - 9	5 - 11
    6	Appearance on a motion, per hour.	1	1 - 2	1 - 3	1 - 4	1 - 5
    	C Discovery and Examinations
    7	Discovery of documents, including listing, affidavit and inspection.	1 - 2	1 - 3	2 - 5	3 - 9	5 - 11
    8	Preparation for an examination, including examinations for discovery, on affidavits, and in aid of execution.	1 - 2	1 - 3	2 - 5	4 - 8	7 - 11
    9	Attending on examinations, per hour.	0 - 1	0 - 2	0 - 3	0 - 4	0 - 5
    	D Pre-Trial and Pre-Hearing Procedures
    10	Preparation for conference, including memorandum.	1 - 2	2 - 5	3 - 6	4 - 8	7 - 11
    11	Attendance at conference, per hour.	1	1 - 2	1 - 3	1 - 4	1 - 5
    12	Notice to admit facts or admission of facts; notice for production at hearing or trial or reply thereto.	1	1 - 2	1 - 3	1 - 4	1 - 5
    13	Counsel fee:
    	(a) preparation for trial or hearing, whether or not the trial or hearing proceeds, including correspondence, preparation of witnesses, issuance of subpoenas and other services not otherwise particularized in this Tariff; and	1	1 - 2	2 - 5	3 - 9	4 - 11
    	(b) preparation for trial or hearing, per day in Court after the first day.	1	1	2 - 3	2 - 6	3 - 8
    	E Trial or Hearing
    14	Counsel fee:
    	(a) to first counsel, per hour in Court; and	1	1 - 2	2 - 3	2 - 4	3 - 5
    	(b) to second counsel, where Court directs, 50% of the amount calculated under paragraph (a).
    15	Preparation and filing of written argument, where requested or permitted by the Court.	1 - 3	2 - 5	3 - 7	4 - 9	5 - 11
    	F Appeals to the Federal Court of Appeal
    16	Counsel fee:
    	(a) motion for leave to appeal and all services prior to the hearing thereof; and	1- 3	2 - 5	4 - 7	5 - 9	7 - 13
    	(b) on an oral hearing of the motion for leave to appeal, per hour.	1	1	1	1	1 - 2
    17	Preparation, filing and service of notice of appeal.	1	1	1	1	1
    18	Preparation of appeal book.	1	1	1	1 - 2	1 - 3
    19	Memorandum of fact and law.	1 - 3	2 - 5	4 - 7	5 - 9	7 - 13
    20	Requisition for hearing.	1	1	1	1	1
    21	Counsel fee:
    	(a) on a motion, including preparation, service and written representations or memorandum of fact and law; and	1	1 - 2	2 - 3	2 - 4	3 - 5
    	(b) on the oral hearing of a motion, per hour.	1 - 2	1 - 3	2 - 4	2 - 5	2 - 6
    22	Counsel fee on hearing of appeal:
    	(a) to first counsel, per hour; and	1	1 - 2	2 - 3	2 - 4	3 - 5
    	(b) to second counsel, where Court directs, 50% of the amount calculated under paragraph (a).
    	G Miscellaneous
    23	Attendance on a reference, an accounting or other like procedure not otherwise provided for in this Tariff, per hour.	1	1 - 2	1 - 3	2 - 4	2 - 5
    24	Travel by counsel to attend a trial, hearing, motion, examination or analogous procedure, at the discretion of the Court.	1	1 - 3	1 - 5	1 - 7	1 - 9
    25	Services after judgment not otherwise specified.	1	1	1	1	1
    26	Assessment of costs.	1 - 2	1 - 4	2 - 6	3 - 7	5 - 10
    27	Such other services as may be allowed by the assessment officer or ordered by the Court.	1	1 - 2	1 - 3	1 - 4	1 - 5
    28	Services in a province by students-at-law, law clerks or paralegals that are of a nature that the law society of that province authorizes them to render, 50% of the amount that would be calculated for a solicitor.
    29	Notice of limited-scope representation	1	1	1	1	1