Sarah E. Martens

The appellants challenged a motion judge's discretionary decision to extend the limitation period under section 38(3) of the Trustee Act and permit the respondents to add the appellants as named defendants in a medical malpractice action.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to interfere with the motion judge's decision, which was based on a finding of special circumstances.

Although there was a lengthy unexplained delay, the motion judge found it was outweighed by other factors, and there was no actual prejudice.

The appeal was dismissed.

The defendants in a medical malpractice action brought a motion for partial summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff's claim under the Family Law Act, arguing she did not meet the definition of a spouse.

The court dismissed the motion, finding it was brought too close to the scheduled trial date contrary to prior instructions.

Applying the principles from Hryniak, the court held that granting partial summary judgment would risk duplicative proceedings and was not in the interest of justice, as the spousal status issue could be efficiently determined at trial.