In a bifurcated civil action where liability had already been determined in favour of the plaintiff and damages were left for later adjudication, the plaintiff moved to dismiss or stay the defendant's summary judgment motion on damages.
The court held that an order directing a trial of an issue does not bar either party from later seeking summary judgment on that issue.
Relying on the modern approach to summary judgment endorsed by the Supreme Court of Canada, the court rejected a formalistic interpretation that would unnecessarily force parties to trial.
The plaintiff's motion was dismissed, but the parties were required to complete the discovery steps mandated by the earlier judgment before the defendant's summary judgment motion could be heard.
