Motion to Strike a Document or Claim

Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43

• Rule 12.02 - O. Reg. 258/98: Rule of the Small Claims Court

12.02 (1) The court may, on motion, strike out or amend all or part of any document that,

(a) discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence;

(b) may delay or make it difficult to have a fair trial; or

(c) is inflammatory, a waste of time, a nuisance or an abuse of the court’s process.

(2) In connection with an order striking out or amending a document under subrule (1), the court may do one or more of the following:

1. In the case of a claim, order that the action be stayed or dismissed.

2. In the case of a defence, strike out the defence and grant judgment.

2.1 In the case of a motion, order that the motion be stayed or dismissed.

3. Impose such terms as are just.

Abdossamadi v TD Insurance Direct Agency Inc., 2016 ONSC 1363 (CanLII)

[17] Stark and the TD Defendants brought motions to strike the Appellant’s claim pursuant to Rule 12.02(a) and (c) of the Rules of the Small Claims Court on the grounds that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action and was inflammatory, a waste of time, a nuisance and/or an abuse of the court’s process.

[18] In reasons released on April 28, 2015, the motion judge granted the Defendants’ motions and dismissed the Appellant’s claims as against all Defendants. She found that the Appellant’s claims had no prospect of success and were therefore a waste of time. As a result, the claims were dismissed in their entirety against all parties.

[19] Did the motion judge err in striking the Appellant’s claim pursuant to Rule 12 without a trial?

[21] A motion under Rule 12.02 falls between a Rule 20 and a Rule 21 motion when compared to the Rules of Civil Procedure (see: Van de Vrande v. Butkowsky, 2010 ONCA 230 (CanLII)). Rule 12.02 functions as a method by which claims lacking in merit may be assessed by a motion judge and determined without the expense of a full trial. It is a motion that is brought in the spirit of the summary nature of Small Claims Court proceedings.