The appellants appealed an order terminating their commercial lease, granting possession to the respondent, and declaring the respondent's principal had sole control over the corporate bank account.
The appellants, who were self-represented at the motion, argued the motion judge breached procedural fairness by rejecting their unsworn affidavit and failing to grant an adjournment.
The Divisional Court majority dismissed the appeal, finding no breach of procedural fairness as the appellants had ample time to prepare and were warned about the need for proper materials.
The majority also held the motion judge did not err in granting what amounted to partial summary judgment on an uncontested record, as the appellants failed to bring contradictory sworn evidence to the judge's attention.
A dissenting judge would have allowed the appeal, finding the motion judge fundamentally misapprehended the record by ignoring sworn cross-examination evidence and acted unfairly toward the self-represented appellants.
