Mauer v. McDougall involved claims for personal injuries arising out of different motor vehicle accidents. The plaintiff had taken no steps to advance the litigation in one case over an eleven year period; in the other, the delay had been over four years. In both cases, the defendants had revived the actions. Examinations for discovery apparently had not been held. With respect to the older case, the court found inherent prejudice in the 11-year delay, compounded by the difficulty in distinguishing between the injuries suffered by the plaintiff both before and after the accident in question. With respect to the more recent case, the court pointed to the difficulties of apportionment due to the fact that the plaintiff had been involved in five accidents, one of which pre-dated the older claim by six years.
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