M. Harrington

The defendant, Coventry Connections Inc., brought a motion under Rule 51.05 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for leave to withdraw an admission in its statement of defence that the co-defendant taxi driver was its employee.

The plaintiff opposed the motion.

Applying the three-part test from Antipas v. Coroneos, the Master found that the admission was inadvertent and that its withdrawal would not result in any non-compensable prejudice to the plaintiff.

The motion was granted, allowing the defendant to amend its pleading to reflect the discovery evidence that the driver was an independent owner and operator.

The defendant brought a motion for leave to withdraw an admission contained in its statement of defence acknowledging that a taxi driver involved in a collision was its employee.

The court applied the three‑part test governing withdrawal of admissions in pleadings: whether the amendment raises a triable issue, whether the admission was inadvertent, and whether the withdrawal would cause non‑compensable prejudice.

The court accepted affidavit evidence explaining that the admission resulted from inadvertence and that discovery evidence suggested the driver was actually the owner and operator of the vehicle.

The court also found no real prejudice to the plaintiff, rejecting arguments that potential loss of access to higher insurance limits constituted prejudice.

Leave to withdraw the admission was granted and costs were reserved.