An Ontario court has ordered that various lawyers involved with a lawsuit against a brokerage firm CIBC Wood Gundy Inc., which has dragged on for over 20 years, must answer questions about why the case has taken so long.
The plaintiffs in the case began a suit against Wood Gundy back in September 1992 over investment losses they suffered in 1991.
The case has yet to be heard, with the plaintiffs now on their fifth law firm, which was hired in 2010.
According to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision, “the plaintiffs blame the delay on their previous lawyers, swearing that they relied on their lawyers to prosecute the action but little was done.”
Wood Gundy is now seeking to question five of the previous lawyers that had a hand in the case over the past 17 years, or worked at the firms that did, so that it can pursue a motion to dismiss the case based on the excessive delay.
The court granted that motion and ordered that the lawyers involved to provide evidence.
“While issues of solicitor-client privilege and memory must be addressed, there can be no question but that the lawyers representing the plaintiffs over the years could be expected to have relevant evidence on some of the issues relevant to the motion to dismiss for delay – whether the delay was intentional, whether it was inexcusable and who is responsible for the delay,” the court said in its decision.