The plaintiff brought a motion to set aside an administrative dismissal order and extend the time to serve a statement of claim arising from a 2013 motor vehicle accident.
The plaintiff's former counsel issued a statement of claim in 2015 but failed to serve it on the defendant insurer.
Subsequent counsel commenced a second, duplicative action without realizing the first existed, leading to the first action being administratively dismissed for delay.
The court found the delay was caused by solicitor inadvertence and that the plaintiff always intended to proceed with the claim.
The court also found the defendant insurer would not suffer significant prejudice, as it had been actively litigating the same issues in the second action and had amassed relevant medical evidence.
The motion was granted, the dismissal was set aside, and the time for service was extended.
