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By: Hayley Gardner
On June 9, 2026, the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick introduced significant amendments to Rule 59 of New Brunswick’s Rules of Court. Rule 59 pertains to the award and calculation of costs following the resolution of legal proceedings in the province.
These amendments represent a long-awaited modernization of New Brunswick’s Rule 59 and the accompanying Tariffs of allowable costs. Until now, costs have been calculated and awarded based upon the monetary amounts that were first set out by the legislature approximately four decades ago. The new Rule 59 increases recoverable costs nearly across the board, bringing these amounts more in line with the current state of the economy.
The new Rule also creates more predictability for costs awards following a motion or application hearing, as well as more risk for the parties involved. Previously, these costs were highly discretionary, and courts would often refrain from making any awards until after the final resolution of the matter. Now, Rule 59 states that costs must be awarded whenever an order is made by the court following a motion or application hearing. These costs are calculated based upon the subject matter of the hearing, and the amount of time that was required for it.
The amendments also serve to discourage litigants from unnecessarily burdening the Court of King’s Bench with proceedings that ought to have been commenced in the Small Claims Court. Under new subrule 59.021, plaintiffs who initiate such proceedings are not guaranteed to be awarded any costs following a judgement, even if they are the successful party. At most, they could only be awarded the amount of costs that would have been available to them in Small Claims Court.
There are also some minor changes to the subrule regarding allowable disbursements. Again, these changes serve to bring the recoverable amounts in line with our current economic realities. For example, the allowable disbursements pertaining to the cost of compensating witnesses for attending trial are now based upon the prevailing minimum wage in the province, and the mileage rates set by the Treasury Board.
As a further illustration of the impact of these amendments, consider a proceeding that ends with an award of damages in the amount of $500,000.00. If this proceeding ended by way of judgement following a trial, the recoverable costs on the basic scale would be:
- Pursuant to the old Rule 59’s Tariff “A”, approximately $22,280.00; and
- Pursuant to the new Rule 59’s Tariff “A”, approximately $65,840.00.
If the same proceeding ended by way of settlement, also in the amount of $500,000.00, the recoverable costs would be:
- Pursuant to the old Rule 59’s Tariff “B”, approximately $7,990.00; and
- Pursuant to the new Rule 59’s Tariff “C”, approximately $24,985.00.
With these recent amendments, New Brunswick law moves towards a more modern approach to litigation costs awards. The new Rule 59 allows for more predictable outcomes regarding costs, and it also encourages parties to avoid excessive litigation and to carefully consider the appropriate method and venue for any potential proceedings. Since these amendments are procedural in nature, they have taken immediate effect and will now apply to all pending and future costs awards.
Link: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ag-pg/PDF/RegulationsReglements/2026/2026-28.pdf
