Scott v Williams and Ors and Sims and Ors No. Scciv-98-1663

The case involves an application by the plaintiff, Scott, to strike out the responses of the defendants to an Amended Notice to Admit. The defendants are the first, second, third, and fifth defendants, represented by counsel Ms Sofroniou, and the fourth defendant, who was represented separately but joined in the proceedings. The plaintiff's application was heard jointly with the defendants' application for an extension of time to file their response. The court found that once the limitation period had expired, it was not open to the responding party to apply for an extension of time, but rather, the respondent must apply for an order under SCR 54.02(1) that the deemed admissions which would otherwise arise do not occur. The court found that the defendants' response was filed two days outside the relevant time limit, but allowed the application to proceed orally to determine whether the deemed admissions should arise. The court found that to refuse to make an order that SCR 54.02(1) shall not apply to the first, second, third and fifth defendants would be to allow a minor technical default to bring about the result that the defendants would effectively be unable to contest a considerable range of evidence relating to essential elements of the plaintiff's claim. The court exercised its discretion conferred upon it by SCR 54.02(1) by ordering that the deemed admissions do not arise and that the response of the first, second, third and fifth defendants in relation to the plaintiff's Amended Notice to Admit shall stand as their response. The court also found that many of the requests in the Notice to Admit were fundamentally flawed, and directed the defendants to provide further and better responses to certain requests. The court dismissed the plaintiff's application to strike out the responses of all the defendants to the Notice to Admit.