The plaintiffs brought a motion under Rule 3.02 of the Rules of Civil Procedure seeking an extension of time to serve their statement of claim after the service deadline had expired.
The delay resulted from inadvertence and administrative errors by the plaintiffs’ counsel, and the motion itself was also brought after additional delay.
Applying the principles from Chiarelli v. Weins, the court focused on whether the defendant would suffer prejudice caused by the delay.
The defendant provided only general assertions of potential prejudice and no specific evidence demonstrating prejudice arising from the late service.
The court held that the absence of demonstrated prejudice favoured permitting the action to proceed on its merits and granted the extension, with no order as to costs.
