LOLG Successful in Responding to Appeal from Dismissal of Application for Summary Judgment

On April 4, 2025, the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan released its decision in Lombard v Ron S. Maurice Professional Corporation, 2025 SKCA 35. The case concerned an application for summary judgment to dismiss an action on the basis of a missed limitation period, the application of a mutual release, and the general merits of the case. The limitation period issue engaged unique facts where a claim commenced during the Covid pandemic was left in the Court’s “drop box” on the day before the limitation period expired, but was not stamped by the Court until the next day. The application judge dismissed the application on all three bases. He held that the plaintiff had done everything he could to commence the claim before the limitation period expired and therefore the limitation defence did not require a trial. The application judge further held that the other two issues were not suited for summary judgment as they were genuine issues that required a trial. The issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the application judge erred in finding that the action had been commenced on time in circumstance.

The Court of Appeal unanimously agreed with LOLG that the application judge did not err in his rulings. This case will serve as a useful precedent on the issue of how to interpret the Saskatchewan King’s Bench Rules concerning when a proceeding is commenced, as well as the standard of review applicable to an application judge’s determination whether a trial is required to determine a disputed claim.

Andrew Winton and Jaylene Olson were counsel on appeal for the successful party, Ron S. Maurice Professional Corporation. The decision can be found here.