Background: Amy Helen Margaret Greyson and James Daniel Eberhardt filed a lawsuit against Echelon General Insurance Company seeking insurance coverage and damages after a fire occurred during renovations of their purchased residential home. Echelon denied coverage based on policy violations.

Motions:

• Echelon filed a motion to strike portions of an affidavit by the plaintiffs' solicitor, Gosia Bawolska, claiming it didn't conform to Rule 4 of the Rules of Civil Procedure. The court dismissed this motion.
• Echelon also sought to stay the action, arguing the plaintiffs failed to disclose a settlement agreement from a related construction lawsuit, potentially affecting the litigation landscape. This motion was dismissed.

Issues/Main Discussion:

• The court had to determine if the affidavit sections should be struck and if Echelon was entitled to stay the action due to nondisclosure of the settlement.
• The court found no issue with Bawolska's affidavit, as the information was uncontested and provided background to the case.
• Regarding the stay, the court ruled that Echelon wasn't affected by the nondisclosure since it wasn't a party to the construction lawsuit and could have protected its interests via third-party claims or subrogated claims, which it didn't pursue.

Ruling:

• Both of Echelon's motions were dismissed.
• The court highlighted Echelon's failure to take protective actions within the permissible period and rejected the application of principles from prior cases that require immediate disclosure of agreements altering litigation dynamics.

Costs:

• The plaintiffs were awarded partial indemnity costs of $15,320.77, payable by Echelon within 30 days.