When appealing a decision of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta, litigants must be mindful of timing to appeal. If you miss the deadline you may well find yourself outside of time. A recent case looked at this issue: Big Plans for Little Kids Ltd v Souster, 2021 ABCA 73. The court in that case said at paragraph 4:
[4] Pursuant to rule 14.8(2)(a)(iii) of the Alberta Rules of Court, AR 124/2010, an applicant must file a notice of appeal within one month after the date of the decision.
[5] The following factors guide the court’s discretion to extend the time to appeal:
1. a bona fide intention to appeal while the right to appeal existed;
2. an explanation for the failure to appeal in time that serves to excuse or justify the lateness;
3. an absence of serious prejudice such that it would not be unjust to disturb the judgment under appeal;
4. the applicants must not have taken the benefits of the judgment under appeal; and
5. the appeal would have a reasonable chance of success if allowed to proceed.
Cairns v Cairns (1931), 26 Alta LR 69 (CA) at 69, 1931 CanLII 471 (Alta CA); Sohal v Brar, 1998 ABCA 375 at para 1.
[6] Even where the factors are not established, the court has an overriding discretion to extend the time to appeal if it is appropriate in the interests of justice and the circumstances of the case: Attila Dogan Construction and Installation Co Inc v AMEC Americas Limited, 2015 ABCA 206 at paras 4-5.
If you require advice related to an appeal, please feel free to contact us.
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. No solicitor client relationship is formed through this article. The reader is encouraged to retain counsel for advice in these matters.
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