A party who fails to file affidavit evidence within the time required by programming orders, and who applies for leave to file late affidavits only days before trial in circumstances where earlier trial dates were vacated for the same reason, faces a very high threshold to obtain leave. The waste of public judicial resources from vacating trial dates, particularly post-COVID, and the self-inflicted nature of the prejudice will weigh heavily against the grant of leave, even where refusal effectively precludes the party from running any defence. Procedural fairness does not require that a party be given an unlimited opportunity to present their case where they have failed to avail themselves of a sufficient opportunity without reasonable cause.
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