Braye v Tarnawskyj (No 2)

The case involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Braye, and the two defendants, Tarnawskyj and another party, concerning the boundaries of their respective properties. The conflict arose following a determination by the court that the first defendant's title to most of the disputed land had been extinguished due to the plaintiff's adverse possession. Consequently, the court needed to establish new boundaries between the plaintiff's and the second defendant's land. The plaintiff proposed specific orders to formalise these new boundaries, which were contested by the defendants.

The court had to address two primary legal issues: whether the plaintiff's offers of compromise, made just before the hearing, were genuine and whether it was reasonable for the defendants not to accept these offers. The court examined the nature and timing of the offers and the plaintiff's subsequent judgment, which was more favourable than the proposed compromises. The court concluded that the offers were genuine compromises and found that the defendants' failure to accept these offers was not reasonable. The court relied on the principles that genuine offers of compromise should be considered in the context of the eventual judgment and that the refusal to accept such offers should be evaluated for reasonableness.

The court determined that the plaintiff's proposed orders should be adopted, reflecting the new boundaries between the plaintiff's and the second defendant's land. The court also ordered the defendants to pay costs, taking into account the genuine offers of compromise that were not accepted. The final orders were made in favour of the plaintiff, setting the new boundaries and awarding costs against the defendants for their unreasonable refusal to accept the compromise offers.