Casual Legal: Preserving litigation deadlines by agreement

By Jenna Chamberlain
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider

One of the most important elements of civil claims is the various limitation periods, timelines, and deadlines to which parties must comply. For example, there are crucial deadlines set out in the common law, the Limitations Act, the Municipal Government Act, and the Alberta Rules of Court, to name a few.

Compliance with these deadlines is necessary to avoid claims being dismissed summarily. Even so, some of the most rigid deadlines can be flexible and accommodate change. Many legislated deadlines can be paused, altered, or removed by the agreement of the parties.

Different options are available, including:

1. Extension of a deadline: If one party is required to take a step or complete a task by a certain deadline, the other party or parties can agree to provide an extension of that deadline. This is common in all civil actions and typically occurs at multiple stages throughout a claim.
2. Standstill and tolling agreements: These agreements must be entered into by all relevant parties. The agreement stops the clock from running for a set period of time. Typically, the parties pick a date from which to essentially freeze time for the purposes of the relevant deadlines. When the agreement ends or is terminated, the time will begin to run again. These agreements are most common if the parties are trying to resolve a matter outside of the litigation process, but would like to maintain their rights in case resolution is not achieved.
3. Court Order setting deadlines: Parties can ask the court, or other relevant body, to alter or set particular deadlines. This is common if one or some of the parties would like to agree to an altered or specific timeline, but the parties are either unable to come to a specific agreement or want to ensure the timelines will be complied with by the other parties.

Altering deadlines by agreement is an important part of all civil claims, as it provides the parties some degree of control over their claims and the litigation process.

However, as lawyers are quick to point out, whether you can or should agree to alter a timeline “depends on the circumstances”.

Before agreeing to any alteration of limitation periods, timelines or deadlines, it is important to receive legal advice. Alterations to legal deadlines can have negative consequences. Some limitation periods and deadlines cannot be altered by agreement, and there are instances in which agreeing to an extension may negatively affect your claim.

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or send an casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.