When a single issue is proposed for summary trial by way of summary trial, does the court have any consideration in deciding the issue as a whole?

While the court will attempt to resolve the issues placed before it and give judgment where it is appropriate to do so, special considerations apply when a single issue is proposed for resolution by way of summary trial. In Coast Foundation v. Currie, 2003 BCSC 1781, Groberman J. summarized these difficulties with reference to the relevant authorities. He noted that courts should be cautious about deciding cases in a piecemeal fashion. The extent to which issues may be intertwined is not always obvious or immediately evident when a single issue is placed before the court in isolation. He highlighted two concerns which are relevant to the efficient resolution of disputes; the allocation of a court’s own resources and the efficiency of a partial determination from the standpoint of the litigation. His comments at paras. 16-18 are particularly apposite: