The taxpayer changed his address after filing his appeal with the Tax Court. He notified CRA of the change but not the Tax Court. He failed to attend a hearing, resulting in default judgment for the Minister.
Rossiter ACJ granted the taxpayer's motion to set aside the default judgment, despite that the motion was brought eighteen months after the judgment, well beyond the 30-day limit in s. 140(2) of the Rules (which the Tax Court has the discretion to extend pursuant to Rule 12(1)). The taxpayer reasonably believed that his appeal was being held in abeyance pending the outcome of related cases, and none of the other relevant factors (e.g. prejudice to other litigants, merit of the appeal) gave a compelling reason not to set aside judgment, especially given the significant prejudice to the taxpayer if the appeal did not proceed (para. 18).