Canmar
5 was a
trend for a day or here to stay. This year, the Federal Court has
seen increased attempts by litigants to resolve matters more
expeditiously by way of dispositive motions. Summary judgment was
granted in three cases
6 and two
motions for default judgment were brought but dismissed based on
insufficient evidence.
ViiV Healthcare Company v. Gilead Sciences
Canada,
8 the Court held that
completion of discoveries is not a precondition to summary trial
such that resolution may be sought at very early stages of the
proceeding.
We saw the Federal Court grant summary disposition to (a)
dispose of claim construction argument,
In a recent decision,
Flatwork Technologies LLC v Brierley (2020 FC 997), the Federal Court granted summary judgment in favour of the Plaintiff, Flatwork Technologies, LLC (
Flatwork), in respect of its patent impeachment action.
A motion for summary judgment is a streamlined and expeditious procedure whereby a party seeks to have the Court adjudicate some or all of the issues in an action based entirely on a paper record. Unlike a full trial which requires the parties to put forward live witnesses, in a motion for summary judgment all of the evidence is submitted by way of affidavits followed by cross-examinations on those affidavits. A motion for summary judgment may be brought at any time after the defendant has filed a defence but before the time and place for trial have been fixed.