This Simplified Rules action involved a dispute between a creditor and debtors.
The plaintiffs moved to restore their action to the trial list after it was struck for delay in 2012.
The defendants brought a cross-motion to dismiss the action for delay.
The court applied the Carioca’s test for restoring an action, which requires a reasonable explanation for delay and no non-compensable prejudice to the defendants.
The court found the relevant delay period began in June 2014, when the defendants withdrew a previous motion to dismiss for delay.
The plaintiffs provided a reasonable explanation for the subsequent 14-month delay, primarily due to attempts to mediate.
The court also found the defendants failed to prove actual prejudice, rejecting bald assertions of fading memories and noting the defendants' own failure to prepare their case by taking witness statements.
Consequently, the plaintiffs' motion to restore the action was granted, and the defendants' motion to dismiss for delay was dismissed.
