Victoria Ashley Freed McCorkindale

The appellant appealed from a motion judge's order dismissing her wrongful dismissal claim.

The motion judge dismissed the claim on two independent grounds: first, that the Superior Court lacked jurisdiction because the claim arose from the interpretation and application of a collective agreement; and second, that the claim was statute-barred under the Limitations Act, 2002.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on the limitation period issue alone, finding that although the appellant's claim was discoverable in late April or mid-May 2020, limitation periods were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic until September 14, 2020.

The two-year limitation period therefore commenced on September 14, 2020, and expired on September 14, 2022.

The appellant commenced her claim on October 27, 2022, which was outside the limitation period.

The defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiff's action under rules 57.03(2) and 60.12 of the Rules of Civil Procedure due to her failure to pay costs awarded against her in two separate court Orders totaling $12,500.

The plaintiff argued impecuniosity.

The court, while acknowledging the plaintiff's impecuniosity, found that her ongoing litigation was vexatious and that impecuniosity was not a shield for unreasonable conduct or a failure to abide by court orders.

The court conditionally dismissed the plaintiff's action, ordering her to pay the outstanding costs by a specific deadline, and fixed additional costs for the current motion.