Administrative Dismissals: A Decidedly Defence Perspective

In the past several years, administrative dismissal orders have become a routine existence, if not an annoyance, at various stages of the litigation process. At times for the defence, however, they have also become intertwined with the fabric of a file's overall strategy. Sometimes this has meant waiting out the administrative dismissal which we all know is coming at the two year mark, in the hopes that it may get rid of a "dog file" we have hanging around our office. At other times, it has meant taking a good run on defending a motion that has been brought by plaintiff's counsel to set aside the order in an effort to dispose of a file, force the plaintiff into settling the claim or imposing restrictive terms on the litigation should the claim be revived (such as a timetable or the waiver of pre-judgment interest for some period of time).