Defendant Permitted to Defend Action Six Years After Plaintiff Obtains Default Judgment

Originally published on Slaw.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a Superior Court Judge's decision to set aside a default judgment obtained by the plaintiff and allow the defendant the opportunity to enter a defence.

The plaintiff provided various crop services to the defendant for a number of years. The defendant would routinely pay the plaintiff's invoices late. This was not necessarily problematic since the plaintiff trusted the defendant and its invoices were usually paid, albeit late.

As the defendant got older, his son took a more active involvement in the defendant's operations. While the plaintiff trusted the defendant, it did not trust his son.

In 2005, the defendant was indebted to the plaintiff for nearly $50,000 for services rendered. The plaintiff had the defendant sign an invoice acknowledging the indebtedness. The invoice also stipulated that interest would accrue at a rate of 24% per year.