The plaintiff, Sema Cetin, brought a motion to lift a stay of proceedings in her professional negligence action against her former lawyers, Thomas Percival, Jason Lam, and Krylov and Company.
The stay was initially granted by consent, pending the 'outcome of the trial' of a related motor vehicle action.
The motor vehicle action subsequently settled, leading the defendants to argue the stay was permanent as no trial occurred.
The court interpreted the consent order broadly, considering the surrounding circumstances and correspondence between counsel, finding that 'outcome' included settlement.
The court also applied the 'interests of justice' test, concluding that lifting the stay was necessary to allow the plaintiff's professional negligence claim to be determined on its merits, despite the defendants' arguments regarding prejudice and the extinguishment of claims.