Jeffrey W. Kramer

The moving defendants sought an order declaring a 2001 commercial action deemed dismissed under Rule 48.15(6), or alternatively dismissed for delay under Rule 24.01.

The court held that, because a notice of intent to defend had been filed, the action was not effectively deemed dismissed as abandoned, following the existing interpretation of the transition provision for undefended actions.

On the delay motion, the court accepted that lengthy inactivity was plausibly explained by extended settlement efforts between the principal parties and found the moving defendants had not demonstrated actual prejudice or a substantial risk to a fair trial in what was largely a document-driven promissory note dispute.

The motion was dismissed, limitations issues were left for another day, and the court imposed an expedited timetable under the new Rule 48.14 framework.

The appellant appealed a summary judgment dismissing his tort claim for negligent misrepresentation against the respondent.

The appellant had advanced mortgage funds on a property and alleged the respondent made a negligent representation regarding the property's consideration in a deed.

The Court of Appeal upheld the motion judge's finding that there was no genuine issue requiring a trial, as the evidence showed the appellant did not rely on the representation when deciding to advance the monies.

The appeal was dismissed.

The appellant vendor sold a property to the respondent purchaser, accepting two assigned mortgages as partial payment.

The appellant subsequently discovered the mortgaged properties were worth significantly less than the face value of the mortgages and sued for fraudulent misrepresentation.

The motion judge granted summary judgment to the respondents, finding no false representation.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that there was a genuine issue for trial as the record contained evidence from which a trial judge could infer that the respondents made false representations by words or conduct regarding the value of the mortgaged properties.