Angloflora Ltd. v. The “Cast Elk”

In Admiralty Practice, Costs and Security for Costs on (Updated )

This was an appeal from an order of a Prothonotary dismissing the Plaintiff’s claim for failure to comply with a peremptory order that required the Plaintiff to pay costs. The appeal Judge dismissed the appeal and upheld the order striking the Plaintiff’s claim. The appeal Judge noted that the only relevant consideration on such a motion is whether there was justification for the non-compliance. The standard of justification was whether the party had clearly demonstrated that there was no intention to ignore or flout the order and that the failure to obey was due to extraneous circumstances. The failure to comply must be beyond the party’s control. Moreover, prejudice to the party that failed to comply is not a consideration in determining if the standard of justification is met.