The defendants brought a motion to strike certain paragraphs from the plaintiff's statement of claim, alleging they referred to without-prejudice communications.
The motion was brought after the defendants had already filed their statement of defence and counterclaim, and after an approximately four-month delay.
The court dismissed the motion, applying Rule 2.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure (the "fresh step" rule).
The court found that the defendants had taken a further step in the proceeding after knowing of the alleged irregularity and had not sought leave to bring the motion or provided a reason for the delay.