On an application to set aside a Preliminary Dismissal Order made for failure to comply with orders or directions, the overriding question is what the demands of justice require between the parties. Where the application is made after the 28-day period in DCR Pt 1 r 7A(5), the focus is on explaining the delay in making the application, not the original default. The availability of a cause of action against a former solicitor is a relevant but not determinative consideration, and the expiration of the limitation period does not confine the discretion to set aside the order.
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