EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2015, RULE 48 OF ONTARIO'S RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE UNDERWENT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. THE
"NEW" RULE 48 PROCESS CHANGES THE PROCEDURE FOR
ADMINISTRATIVE DISMISSALS OF CIVIL ACTIONS IN A WAY THAT ALL
ONTARIO LITIGATORS MUST BE AWARE OF AND MUST BE PREPARED TO
ADDRESS.
The "old" Rule 48 procedure was intended to reduce
inefficiency by requiring litigants and their lawyers to organize
civil proceedings toward resolution or trial in a more diligent
fashion (i.e., two years, subject to Court permitted extensions).
However noble the intent, the "old" Rule 48 procedure did
not work, caused unwanted and unnecessary bureaucracy and
ultimately created greater inefficiencies in the form of status
hearings, inadvertent administrative dismissals, and the plethora
of motions to set aside those dismissals. In many ways, and in many
jurisdictions, it proved impractical to prosecute a civil action
from the date of the issuance of claim to setting down for trial
