Summary

Keywords

Civil procedure — Delay — Motion to dismiss action for undue delay — Standard of review of order of Prothonotary — What is the proper approach to dismissal for delay in civil cases? — What standard of review applies when an appellate court reviews a trial judge’s review of a Prothonotary, Master or similar judicial officer, including factual findings made for the first time by the trial reviewing court?

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

The underlying dispute is a copyright infringement action before the Federal Court. The applicants were defendants before the Federal Court and brought a motion to dismiss the respondents’ action for undue delay. The motion was denied by a Prothonotary of the Federal Court, granted by a judge of the Federal Court on appeal, and denied again upon further appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal.

Lower Court Rulings