The defendant brought a motion under rule 21.01(3)(d) of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking dismissal of a Superior Court action as an abuse of process.
The plaintiffs had previously commenced substantially the same claim in Small Claims Court, which was dismissed as abandoned.
Rather than moving to set aside the dismissal, the plaintiffs commenced a new action in the Superior Court seeking the same relief.
The court held that allowing the new action to proceed would constitute a collateral attack on the Small Claims Court order and undermine the administration of justice.
The Superior Court proceeding was therefore stayed.
