Summary Judgment – Confusion In Alberta

Summary judgment has been a hot topic since the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Hryniak v Mauldin, 2014 SCC 7 [Hryniak]. Following Hryniak, the high standard of proof previously required for summary judgment was relaxed, and the importance of these applications as a method to achieve timely and affordable access to justice was emphasized.

Since Hryniak, the number of summary judgment applications in Alberta has increased. Parties wait in excess of a year for special chambers dates and with that comes correspondingly aggressive attempts by counsel and the courts to decide increasingly complex matters in morning chambers on little notice. Any practicing litigation counsel will tell you that daily chambers lists are packed, the decisions are unpredictable, and it is not uncommon to find yourself compelled to return the next day.

Three recent decisions of the Alberta Court of Appeal have added to this already...