Legal Blog

Frivolous Action or Appeal

2257573 Ontario Inc. v. Furney, 2026 ONCA 124

Mortgagor moved to re‑open a previously dismissed appeal after mortgagee had obtained summary judgment enforcing mortgage obligations that had already been upheld by the appellate court. The court dealt with the motion under Rule 2.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, which authorises early dismissal of proceedings that are plainly frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process. It found that the motion raised no exceptional circumstances capable of justifying the extraordinary remedy of re‑opening an appeal and instead sought to relitigate issues that were or could have been raised previously. Exercising its gatekeeping function under Rule 2.1, the court summarily dismissed the motion as an abuse of process with no chance of success.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.