The Full Appreciation Test Unveiled: Summary Judgment Motions Expanded In Ontario

As I stated in my previous article regarding summary judgment motions in Ontario,¹ Clients often lament that the wheels of justice grind too slowly and they ask what, if anything, can be done to have their dispute resolved more expeditiously. The legal community (judges, lawyers, academics and rule makers alike) hear these comments and continue to implement solutions designed to increase access to justice in the court system.

Perhaps the single most significant change in recent years came when the courts were empowered to decide a case on its merits without the need for a trial. Trials are time consuming and costly both to the parties and the taxpayers funding our court system. The concept is that if a judge can have a full appreciation of the facts and issues enabling him or her to decide the dispute on its merits without a trial then it is not in the interests of justice to commit public and private resources to having a trial.