Shelby Christine Morrison

The Master awarded substantial indemnity costs against the plaintiff, Long Term Recovery Limited (LTR), in favour of the defendants, David Ted Bolden and Antoinette Arian Bolden, following the defendants' successful motion to set aside default judgment.

The court found LTR's opposition to the motion to be aggressive, overly technical, and unreasonable, especially given the low threshold for setting aside default judgment and the defendants' bona fide attempts to retain counsel.

The decision emphasized promoting access to justice and deterring unreasonable interlocutory positions through higher costs awards.

The defendants brought a motion to set aside default judgment obtained by the plaintiff on a promissory note.

The court applied the Mountain View Farms test, considering promptness, plausible excuse for default, arguable defence, prejudice, and the integrity of justice.

The defendants demonstrated a plausible excuse for delay (financial difficulty in retaining counsel) and arguable defences, including undue influence/lack of independent legal advice, improvident insurance settlement affecting the note's quantum, and the plaintiff's status as an unregistered collection agency or Ontario's jurisdiction.

The court found minimal prejudice to the plaintiff, who had delayed collection for six years, and that setting aside default judgment served the interests of justice, especially given active discussions between counsel prior to default.

The motion was granted, and default judgment was set aside.