Ontario Superior Court Resolves Dueling Summary Judgment Motions

In the latest round of Keatley Surveying v Teranet, a copyright dispute between land surveyors and the manager of Ontario's electronic land registry system, Justice Belobaba of the Ontario Superior Court was asked to determine which of two motions for summary judgment should proceed first: a defendant's pre-certification motion or a plaintiff's post-certification motion. The case is worth noting for any defendant considering summary judgment in a potential class action: Unless there is good reason to do otherwise, if a defendant wants to dismiss the claim of a single plaintiff, it is generally better to seek summary judgment before or at the time of the certification motion.

The defendant, Teranet Inc., filed a motion for summary judgment to dismiss only the plaintiff's claim for copyright infringement, shortly after the plaintiff filed a certification motion. The original case management judge decided that the certification motion should be heard first and adjourned