The appellants brought motions to set aside Notices of Discontinuance and Judgments issued by the Tax Court, alleging their agent settled their tax appeals without authorization and contrary to their instructions.
The appellants relied on Rule 172(2)(a) of the Tax Court of Canada Rules (General Procedure), arguing the judgments were obtained by fraud or that the agent's unauthorized actions constituted newly discovered facts.
The sole evidence provided was an affidavit from an associate lawyer at the firm representing the appellants on the motions, based entirely on information and belief.
The court found the affidavit did not comply with Rule 72, contained inadmissible opinions and legal arguments, and lacked necessity and reliability.
The motions were dismissed as the evidence fell far short of establishing the conditions required to set aside the judgments.