Background: Lihong Yang and Li Shi were involved in prolonged litigation originating from a residential tenancy dispute. Ms. Yang initiated a small claims action in November 2017, which led to various judicial reviews and appeals.

Nature of the Application: Lihong Yang applied to vary the settled orders and assessed costs by the Registrar under s. 35(2) of the Court of Appeal Act and R. 63(2) of the Court of Appeal Rules.

Applications to Vary: Ms. Yang contested the language of the orders related to the Leave Application Decision and the Application to Vary Decision, claiming that the original language did not authorize Ms. Shi to recover costs. Ms. Yang also argued that the Registrar erred in assessing costs under the current Rules rather than the former Rules.

Legal Arguments/Issues:

• Ms. Yang claimed the Registrar unilaterally changed the orders' language and argued there was no substantive difference between the original orders and her proposed wording.
• She maintained that her appeal was a “pre-existing appeal” and should have been assessed under the former Rules.
• Ms. Yang also contended that costs should not be awarded for the hearing to settle the orders.

Decision: The Honourable Mr. Justice Harris dismissed both applications, ruling that the Registrar's decisions were correct and that the original orders inherently authorized Ms. Shi to recover costs.

Costs and Awards: Ms. Shi was awarded fixed costs totaling $1,500 for both applications. The Registrar was directed to issue a certificate of costs in this amount.