The defendants brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's construction lien action for delay under section 47 of the Construction Act and Rule 24.
The action had been delayed for seven years, partly due to an ill-conceived and legally impossible attempt to transfer the lien action to the Small Claims Court.
The court found that despite the plaintiff's egregious delay, a fair trial was still possible as the issues were simple and the defendants' claimed prejudice was unrelated to the delay.
The motion was dismissed, but the court awarded $1,500 in costs to the unsuccessful defendants due to the plaintiff's failure to advance the claim.
