In what circumstances will a dismissal be dismissed for want of prosecution in a family proceeding?

In Vickers v. Vickers, [1991] B.C.J. No. 3670 (S.C.), Davies J. had occasion to deal with a dismissal for want of prosecution application in a family proceeding. In that case he found that a delay of ten years in a proceeding must be considered to be inordinate. That action was concerned with division of family assets, although when the parties separated they had little or no assets. The petitioner wife alleged that she had assisted in inspiring the respondent, a struggling artist. The respondent husband denied that she had assisted him in any way. Given the passage of time, and the fact that his file had been destroyed by that time, the husband said that it would be impossible for him to defend the claim. I also note that in that case the parties had lived together for only approximately two years after their marriage.