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Motion to set aside registrar's dismissal for delay denied due to unexplained delays and prejudice.
The plaintiff brought a motion to set aside a registrar's order dismissing his wrongful dismissal action for delay.
The action was dismissed after the plaintiff failed to respond to a status notice.
The plaintiff's counsel argued the delay was due to the plaintiff's diagnosis with a brain tumour and subsequent death, which made obtaining instructions difficult.
The court applied the Reid factors and found that while the medical condition explained some delay, it did not excuse the failure to request a status hearing or the 11-month delay in bringing the motion to set aside.
Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to rebut the presumption of prejudice to the defendant, and actual prejudice was found due to the plaintiff's death and the loss of evidence regarding mitigation.
The motion was dismissed.
Civil action for defamation by employer against employee dismissed as dispute fell within exclusive jurisdiction of labour arbitrator.
The appellants, owners of hotels and other businesses, brought a civil action for defamation, interference with economic relations, and conspiracy to injure against an employee and union steward who delivered a speech to customers.
The motion judge dismissed the action, finding that the dispute was essentially a workplace dispute governed by the collective agreement, thereby ousting the court's jurisdiction under the Weber framework.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision, agreeing that the facts and context of the dispute were overwhelmingly employment-related and that the appellants had initially treated the matter as a workplace incident by taking disciplinary steps.
