Patricia Joseph

The parties resolved a motion regarding a late response to a Request to Admit on consent, leaving only the issue of costs to be decided.

The plaintiff had refused to consent to a short extension of time after the defendants' counsel inadvertently missed the deadline.

The court found that the plaintiff's refusal to consent to a reasonable extension request unnecessarily lengthened the proceedings, especially since the plaintiff had failed to obtain the required leave under the Construction Lien Act before serving the Request to Admit.

Costs were awarded to the defendants on a partial indemnity basis.

The Minister of Finance reassessed BFL Canada Risk and Insurance Services Inc. for a late retail sales tax return, imposing an administrative penalty.

BFL sought an extension and penalty waiver based on extenuating circumstances, which the Minister rejected.

BFL appealed to the Superior Court of Justice, challenging the Minister's refusal to apply its Extenuating Circumstances Policy.

The Minister argued the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction, asserting the matter should proceed by judicial review in Divisional Court.

The motion addressed the question of law regarding the Superior Court's jurisdiction under s. 25(1) of the Retail Sales Tax Act to vacate or vary a tax assessment based on the Minister's discretionary decisions.

The court found that the Superior Court has jurisdiction, as the RSTA's appeal mechanism is broad and not limited to the validity and correctness of an assessment, nor does it immunize discretionary decisions.