Spa v. Canada Maritime Ltd.
The court exercised its discretion to abridge the delay and to vary the prior order by granting a short, peremptory extension to January 11, 2002 because plaintiffs demonstrated that no witness could be available before the previous date and a limited extension would prevent injustice; counsel's procedural error did...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2001 FCT 1400
- Parties
- Plaintiff: AMUT S.P.A.; Plaintiff: ROYAL FLEX LOX PIPE LIMITED; Plaintiff: UNIFREIGHT ITALIA Srl.; Plaintiff: UNIFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD.; Plaintiff: ALL THOSE PERSONS HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CARGO LADEN ON BOARD THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"; Defendant: CANADA MARITIME LTD.; Defendant: THE OWNERS AND CHARTERERS OF THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"; Defendant: THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"
- Court
- Federal Court
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 17 December 2001
- Procedural Posture
- Admiralty / Maritime Action in Rem and in Personam / Pre Trial Motion to Abridge Delay and Extend Examination on Discovery
- Outcome
- Motion allowed in part with costs; prior order varied to extend examination date to January 11, 2002; court remains seized.
- Legal Topics
- Examination on Discovery, Extension of Time, Variation of Interlocutory Order, Costs
- Source Language
- english
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
AMUT S.P.A.
Plaintiff
ROYAL FLEX LOX PIPE LIMITED
Plaintiff
UNIFREIGHT ITALIA Srl.
Plaintiff
UNIFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Plaintiff
ALL THOSE PERSONS HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CARGO LADEN ON BOARD THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"
Plaintiff
CANADA MARITIME LTD.
Defendant
THE OWNERS AND CHARTERERS OF THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"
Defendant
THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST"
Defendant
Procedural Posture
Admiralty / Maritime Action in Rem and in Personam / Pre Trial Motion to Abridge Delay and Extend Examination on Discovery
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether to abridge the delay for presenting the motion under the Federal Court Rules
- 2 Whether to extend the time for examination on discovery despite a prior order providing for dismissal if no witness produced
- 3 Whether Teitelbaum J.'s order of November 22, 2001 should be varied
Ratio Decidendi
The court exercised its discretion to abridge the delay and to vary the prior order by granting a short, peremptory extension to January 11, 2002 because plaintiffs demonstrated that no witness could be available before the previous date and a limited extension would prevent injustice; counsel's procedural error did not outweigh the justification for the extension. Costs were awarded to the defendants.
Court Disposition
Motion allowed in part with costs; prior order varied to extend examination date to January 11, 2002; court remains seized.
Orders
- Delay to present the motion abridged.
- Plaintiffs shall present a witness in Montreal for examination on discovery by the Defendants no later than January 11, 2002.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Spa v. Canada Maritime Ltd. Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2001-12-17 Neutral citation 2001 FCT 1400 File numbers T-1639-97 Decision Content Date: 20011217 Docket: T-1639-97 Neutral citation: 2001 FCT 1400 Montreal, Quebec, December 17, 2001 Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Nadon Action in rem against the vessel "CANMAR CONQUEST" and in personam against the Owners and Charterers of the vessel "CANMAR CONQUEST", Canada Martime Ltd. and Ango-Eastern Shipmanagement Ltd. BETWEEN: AMUT S.P.A. and ROYAL FLEX LOX PIPE LIMITED and UNIFREIGHT ITALIA Srl. and UNIFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD. and ALL THOSE PERSONS HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CARGO LADEN ON BOARD THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Plaintiffs AND CANADA MARITIME LTD. and THE OWNERS AND CHARTERERS OF THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" and THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Defendants Motion on behalf of Plaintiffs for an Order: - Abridging the delays for the presentation of the present motion; - Extending the delay to hold the examination on discovery of a representative of Amut S.p.a. (Rule 8 of the Federal Court Rules, 1998) ORDER AND REASONS FOR ORDER [1] The motion is allowed with costs in the sum of $500 payable to the Defendants in any event of the cause. Firstly, the delay to present the motion is abridged. Secondly, the Plaintiffs shall present a witness in Montreal, at the latest January 11, 2002, for examination on discovery by the Defendants. [2] Although Teitelbaum J.'s Order of November 22, 2001 provides that the Statement of Claim will be dismissed upon failure to produce a witness by December 14, 2001, I am satisfied that, in the circumstances, Teitelbaum J.'s Order ought to be varied so as to extend the examination on discovery date from December 14, 2001 to the latest January 11, 2002. [3] Counsel for Plaintiffs ought not to have agreed to the December 14, 2001 date before having verified the availability of a witness. However, I am not prepared to refuse a short extension so as to allow the Plaintiffs to produce a witness. I am satisfied that no witness could be made available prior to December 14, 2001. [4] The January 11, 2002 date is peremptory. No further delay will be allowed. I will remain seized of this matter pending completion of the Defendants' examination on discovery of the Plaintiffs' witness. "Marc Nadon" Judge FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA TRIAL DIVISION Date: 20011217 Docket: T-1639-97 BETWEEN: AMUT S.P.A. and ROYAL FLEX LOX PIPE LIMITED and UNIFREIGHT ITALIA Srl. and UNIFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD. and ALL THOSE PERSONS HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CARGO LADEN ON BOARD THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Plaintiffs AND CANADA MARITIME LTD. and THE OWNERS AND CHARTERERS OF THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" and THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Defendants ORDER AND REASONS FOR ORDER FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA TRIAL DIVISION NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD DOCKET: T-1639-97 STYLE OF CAUSE: AMUT S.P.A. and ROYAL FLEX LOX PIPE LIMITED and UNIFREIGHT ITALIA Srl. and UNIFREIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD. and ALL THOSE PERSONS HAVING AN INTEREST IN THE CARGO LADEN ON BOARD THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Plaintiffs AND CANADA MARITIME LTD. and THE OWNERS AND CHARTERERS OF THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" and THE VESSEL "CANMAR CONQUEST" Defendants PLACE OF HEARING: Montreal, Quebec DATE OF HEARING: December 17, 2001 ORDER AND REASONS FOR ORDER OF: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NADON DATED: December 17, 2001 Page: 2 APPEARANCES: Mr. Jean-Marie Fontaine FOR THE PLAINTIFFS Mr. Jeremy Bolger FOR THE DEFENDANTS SOLICITORS OF RECORD: SPROULE, POLLACK Montreal, Quebec FOR THE PLAINTIFFS BORDEN, LADNER, GERVAIS Montreal, Quebec FOR THE DEFENDANTS