The Court held that that notices requiring deponents for cross-examination under UCPR r 35.2 are served well in advance of hearing, particularly where deponents are third-party professionals with independent commitments. Providing notice only 7 working days before a long-scheduled hearing may be found unreasonable, potentially forfeiting the right to exclude the affidavit under r 35.2(3). The case also illustrates that where a deponent is genuinely unreachable despite prompt efforts, the court may treat them as unavailable under the Evidence Act s 63 and admit the affidavit subject to weight.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.