Case information

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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.

Civil procedure – Motion to strike pleadings – Judicial immunity –Negligence – Duty of Care –Whether the lower courts erred in finding that the respondent judge had jurisdiction to hear the application to set aside the default judgments – Whether the lower courts relied upon the wrong Rule – Whether the lower courts erred by relying on the wrong judicial precedents – Whether the defense of judicial immunity applies in the absence of a Statement of Defence – Alberta Rules of Court, Alta Reg 124/2010, Rules 3.68, 9.15 and 9.16.

In a previous action, the applicant noted in default certain defendants and obtained default judgments from Wilson J. of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. The respondent law firm and lawyer, acting as counsel for those defendants, brought an application to set aside the default judgments on the basis of Rules 9.15(1)(a) and 9.16, arguing that the defendants had not been served notice. Wilson J. set aside the default judgments. The applicant appealed that decision but subsequently discontinued the appeal. The applicant now brings an action against the respondents alleging that the counsel had acted deceitfully to obtain the setting aside of the default judgments and that Wilson J. was functus officio and had no capacity to set them aside. The respondents brought separate applications to strike the Statement of Claim. The Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta struck the claims against Wilson J. on the basis of Rules 9.15 and 9.16 and also due to judicial immunity. It further found that since the other respondents owed no duty to the applicant, no reasonable claim against them could be made. The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.