Litigants who are unresponsive, fail to attend court appearances, or do not diligently pursue their case may face procedural consequences and court sanctions. Self-represented litigants are no exception and remain subject to the same rules, deadlines, and court orders as represented parties.
In Erkman et al. v. Perry et al. (Court File No. CV-22-578301, Toronto) (not on CanLII), the Superior Court ordered $6,500 in costs against self-represented plaintiffs who failed to comply with a consent timetable, causing unnecessary delay and requiring the defendants to bring a motion to advance the litigation.
The plaintiffs commenced the action in 2022. The defendants defended the action and delivered their affidavit of documents in May 2023. Thereafter, despite repeated requests from the defendants’ counsel, the plaintiffs failed to provide their own productions or take any steps to advance their action.
