What is the test to strike a statement of claim as disclosing no cause of action?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Prokuron Sourcing Solutions Inc. v. Sobeys Inc. and Lexmark Canada Inc., 2019 ONSC 7403 (CanLII):

The test to strike a statement of claim as disclosing no cause of action is well-known: (a) The claim will be struck when it is “plain and obvious” that it discloses no reasonable cause of action: Hunt v. T & N plc, 1990 CanLII 90 (SCC), [1990] 2 S.C.R 959 at para. 36. The impugned paragraphs should be struck only if the cause of action has no reasonable prospect of success: Rebello v. Bank of Nova Scotia, 2018 ONSC 7127 at para. 5 (b) The words of the claim should be read generously in favour of the plaintiff. Pleadings are to be read as generously as possible to accommodate any inadequacies due to drafting deficiencies: Dawson v. Baker, 2017 ONSC 6477 at para. 39. (c) Evidence is not admissible under rule 21.01(1)(b) although the court can consider documents referred to in the statement of claim. (d) The threshold for a statement of claim to survive a motion to strike is not high. A “germ or scintilla” of a cause of action will be sufficient: Dawson at para. 37. (e) As long as the pleading raises a factual matrix of concern to the plaintiff within which it is possible to locate the defendant’s liability, it will survive the motion: Dawson at para. 39.

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