What is the test for a Defendant to plead that they have a lesser meaning than that of the Claim?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Dhami et al v. CBC et al, 2001 BCSC 1811 (CanLII):

In Siddon v. Mair et al., [1997] B.C.J. No. 280 (Q.L.)(B.C.S.C.), Fraser J. held that defendants were not entitled to plead a ‘lesser meaning’ than that alleged by the plaintiffs. Reasons were not given, and this decision cannot be said to be determinative of the principle asserted by the plaintiffs. It may well be that, because the issue arose at trial, Fraser J. based his decision on oppression.

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