Yasmin Nakhuda leaves Ontario Superior Court in Oshawa, Ont. on Friday February 1,2013 after a judge ruled that she could not have temporary custody of her pet monkey, Darwin, ahead of a trial. The former owner of the Ikea monkey must pay $83,000 in costs to a primate sanctuary she sued, an Ontario court ordered Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
January 17, 2014 - 9:47 AM
TORONTO - An Ontario court has ordered the woman who calls herself the Ikea monkey's "mom" to pay more than $80,000 to a primate sanctuary she sued.
Yasmin Nakhuda lost ownership of Darwin the monkey after he escaped from her car in December 2012 at an Ikea store in Toronto.
Animal services nabbed the monkey and sent him to Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ont., who Nakhuda sued in an attempt to get Darwin back.
An Ontario Superior Court judge ruled in September that the monkey is a wild animal, and based on case law that means Nakhuda lost ownership the minute Darwin made his great escape.
The court released a decision on costs today, ordering Nakhuda to pay the sanctuary and its owner $83,000, which is in addition to her own legal costs.
Lawyer Kevin Toyne represented the sanctuary pro bono, but the court said it is still appropriate in some such cases for lawyers to get some reimbursement for their services from the losing side in a lawsuit.
Cost awards are generally made directly to the party, in this case the sanctuary and its owner, and Toyne said whether all or some of that money is going to him is a confidential matter between him and his clients.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014