The plaintiff moved to set aside a registrar’s dismissal of his multi-party action for delay under Rule 37.14.
Applying the contextual approach and the Reid factors, the court held that the plaintiff had shown sufficient inadvertence, ongoing intention to pursue the claim, and absence of significant prejudice to the defendants, despite delay and the expiry of a limitation period.
The court also found uncontradicted evidence that the status notice may not have been received and emphasized the preference for deciding civil cases on their merits rather than procedural defaults.
The dismissal was set aside, directions were given for any summary judgment motion and for setting the matter down for trial, and no costs were ordered.
