Barakat v Mastroianni

Barakat v Mastroianni was a case heard in a lower court where the plaintiff sought to rely on an expert report in their proceedings against the defendants. The defendants objected to the report being admitted as evidence on the basis that it was served after the deadline specified by the rules of court. The plaintiff sought an extension of time to rely on the report, arguing that there were exceptional circumstances justifying the delay. The court was required to determine whether the plaintiff's delay in serving the report was excusable and whether there were exceptional circumstances that warranted granting leave for the late filing and service of the report.

The court considered the factors relevant to determining whether the delay was excusable and whether there were exceptional circumstances. The plaintiff argued that the delay was due to the expert's illness and unavailability, which the court accepted as a reasonable explanation. The court also considered the impact of the delay on the defendants and whether they had been prejudiced by the delay. The court found that the defendants had not been prejudiced by the delay as they had been aware of the expert's illness and had not raised any objection to the delay until the report was served. The court was satisfied that there were exceptional circumstances that warranted granting leave for the late filing and service of the report.

The court granted the plaintiff leave to rely on the expert report, notwithstanding that it was served after the deadline. The court also granted leave to the defendants to rely on a report responding to the occupational therapist's report that is served by a specified date. The court ordered that the costs of the motion be costs in the proceedings.