Can a party be found guilty of wilful delay or default for refusing to read documents served to them?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Sarmadi v Park, 2021 BCSC 264 (CanLII):
The phrase “guilty of wilful delay or default” has been interpreted to mean more than just purposeful, deliberate, or intentional behavior, and carries with it a sense of blameworthiness: Zhang v. Ton, 2014 BCSC 122 at para. 29. If documents are served but a party chooses not to read them, that behaviour is consistent with wilful blindness and such conduct should not be condoned: para. 34.
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