Where the subject matter of litigation ceases to exist through the actions of a non-party, the court will ordinarily grant leave to discontinue with each party bearing its own costs, and will not inquire into the theoretical prospects of success. A departure from this general rule requires a showing equivalent to entitlement to summary judgment on undisputed facts. The remedy for abuse of process arising from duplicative proceedings is a stay, not dismissal.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.