An Ontario judge ruled a set of families with autistic children who launched a lawsuit against the provincial government and seven school boards will not have to pay thousands of dollars in legal costs.
The decision was released on Tuesday that the five families who brought about the lawsuit will not have to pay the $85,000 sought by the provincial government and school boards.
The judge said there was nothing frivolous about the lawsuit, and that it would be unjust to penalize the plaintiffs by ordering them to pay the costs.
"It's sad that families are put in a position where we have to turn to the courts but that is the reality," Taline Sagharian, one of the parents who launched the original lawsuit, told CTV.ca in an email.
"How silly that they insist on fighting us tooth and nail when they could instead be doing the right thing and providing our children with the supports they need and have a right to."
The government and school boards were seeking the money under "loser pay" rules which apply to test cases or cases of wide public interest.
The families launched the $1.25-billion lawsuit against the Ontario government in 2004.
The class-action lawsuit alleged the government failed autistic children by not providing access to the specialized treatment in school.
A judge rejected most of their claims in March, but the families are in the process of appealing that decision.
Lawyers for the government and school boards had argued that they were not asking for the full costs
The province is willing to wait for the money until after the appeal process is complete.
With files from the Canadian Press
