The plaintiff brought a motion under Rule 37.14 to set aside a registrar’s order dismissing a personal injury action for delay.
The action arose from a motor vehicle accident and had been dismissed after the plaintiff failed to set the matter down for trial following mediation.
Applying the contextual approach endorsed in Scaini v. Prochnicki, the court considered the four Reid criteria, including the explanation for delay, intention to proceed, promptness of the motion, and prejudice to the defendant.
Although the plaintiff did not fully satisfy the first and third criteria due to significant delay, the court found the delay largely attributable to counsel’s inadvertence and concluded the defendant had not suffered material prejudice.
Balancing the interests of the parties, the court set aside the registrar’s dismissal order and extended the time to set the action down for trial.
