The Defendant Appealed a Decision dismissing his Application to consolidate two matters, an Action for breach of a matrimonial property agreement and an Application for retroactive child support.

The Appellant applied pursuant to Rule 3.72 to have the two claims consolidated. The Court noted that an Order to consolidate is discretionary and the standard of review on Appeal is reasonableness. In determining whether to consolidate the Claims, the Court held that it must weigh several factors, including “the extent to which there are common claims and disputes, and the possibility that consolidation may save time and resources in pre-trial procedures and at trial. The court must also consider potential prejudice to the parties which may arise from consolidation…”.

The Court, dismissing the Appeal, agreed with the Chambers Justice that although there was an overlap in the factual context, the benefit of consolidating the Actions was “diminished by the fundamental difference in the issues and outweighed by the prejudice”.