At a status hearing, the defendants argued that the action had been deemed dismissed as abandoned under Rule 48.15(6) of the Rules of Civil Procedure because no step had been taken between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011.
The plaintiff contended that Rule 48.15 applies only to undefended actions and that the proper rule governing defended actions was Rule 48.14.
The court reviewed the history and purpose of both rules and held that Rule 48.15, including its transition provision in subrule (6), was enacted to address undefended actions that had not progressed.
The court concluded that the rule does not apply to defended actions, which are already governed by the status hearing regime under Rule 48.14.
The action was therefore not deemed dismissed.
