- A motion to strike asks the court to remove all or part of a pleading from the record because of a problem with the pleading itself, not because the underlying facts are disputed.
- - No reasonable cause of action (or no reasonable defence).
- The outcome depends heavily on why it was struck and whether the court sees any realistic way to fix the problem.
Being served with a lawsuit — or reading the defence the other side just filed — is stressful enough without discovering that some or all of it might not even be legally allowed to stand. A motion to strike pleading ontario courts will grant is a specific, targeted tool: it does not decide who wins the underlying dispute, it decides whether a particular claim or defence, as written, is even capable of succeeding in law.
Pleadings are the formal documents — the statement of claim, the statement of defence, and related documents — that set out each side's version of events and legal position under the Rules of Civil Procedure. Before a case ever reaches trial, either side can ask the court to strike out all or part of the other side's pleading, on the basis that it is legally deficient rather than simply weak on the facts.
Understanding what actually gets a pleading struck, and what your options are afterward, helps you avoid being caught off guard by one of these motions — or knowing when it is worth bringing one yourself.
What a Motion to Strike Is (and Is Not)
A motion to strike asks the court to remove all or part of a pleading from the record because of a problem with the pleading itself, not because the underlying facts are disputed. It is fundamentally different from a trial or a summary judgment motion, both of which involve weighing evidence. On a motion to strike, the court generally takes the pleaded facts as true and asks a narrower legal question: even if everything alleged is accurate, does it disclose a claim or defence the law recognizes?
Common Grounds for Striking a Pleading
- No reasonable cause of action (or no reasonable defence). The facts alleged, even if fully proven, would not entitle the plaintiff to any remedy the law provides — or would not give the defendant any legally recognized answer to the claim.
- The pleading is scandalous, frivolous, or vexatious. It is used to harass, embarrass, or abuse the process rather than to genuinely advance or defend a claim.
- The pleading is an abuse of the court's process. For example, it attempts to relitigate an issue already finally decided, or is brought for an improper collateral purpose.
- The pleading fails to disclose the material facts needed to support the claim or defence as pleaded. A bare assertion without the underlying factual basis can be struck, though often with a chance to fix it.
- The pleading is confusing, prolix, or embarrassing to the point that the other side cannot reasonably respond to it.
What Happens After a Pleading Is Struck
The outcome depends heavily on why it was struck and whether the court sees any realistic way to fix the problem.
- Struck with leave to amend. The most common result for a fixable defect — the party gets a chance to file a corrected version addressing the identified problem.
- Struck without leave to amend. Used where the underlying claim or defence is legally hopeless no matter how it is rephrased. For a plaintiff, this can end the lawsuit entirely (subject to appeal); for a defendant, it can mean the defence to that particular claim is gone.
- Partially struck. Only specific paragraphs or claims are removed, with the rest of the pleading and the case continuing.
A pleading struck without leave to amend is a serious outcome, and courts do not grant it lightly — it is generally reserved for pleadings that are plainly and obviously deficient in law, not merely weak.
How This Differs From Losing at Trial
| Motion to Strike | Trial or Summary Judgment | |
|---|---|---|
| What is examined | The pleading itself, as written | The evidence supporting each side's version of events |
| Facts alleged | Generally assumed true for the motion | Must actually be proven |
| What a win means | The claim or defence is legally incapable of succeeding | One side's factual case is stronger, or the claim fails on the merits |
| Common result | Struck with or without leave to amend | Judgment for one party, in whole or in part |
Practical Considerations Before Bringing (or Responding to) One
- A motion to strike takes time and involves its own costs exposure — the losing party on the motion is often ordered to contribute to the other side's costs of bringing or defending it, consistent with the general "loser pays" approach that applies to motions as well as trials.
- Bringing a weak motion to strike, purely to delay or pressure the other side, can backfire in costs and in how the court views the rest of the case.
- If your own pleading has an obvious gap, it is often far cheaper to amend it voluntarily before a motion is brought than to fight (and likely lose) a motion to strike and then amend anyway.
- Mandatory mediation under the Rules of Civil Procedure applies only in specific regions of the province, so whether mediation happens before or after a motion to strike depends on where the action is proceeding.
Frequently asked questions
Can new evidence be introduced on a motion to strike?
Generally, no — for the "no reasonable cause of action" ground specifically, the motion is decided on the pleading alone, without affidavit evidence, because the question is a legal one about what is alleged, not whether it is true. Other grounds for striking a pleading may allow some evidence.
What should I do if my statement of claim gets struck?
Read the order carefully to see whether leave to amend was granted and, if so, what deadline applies. If leave was given, focus on fixing the specific deficiency identified rather than rewriting the whole document; if leave was refused, get advice quickly on whether an appeal is realistic.
Is a motion to strike the same as a motion for summary judgment?
No. A motion to strike is about whether a pleading is legally sufficient on its face; a summary judgment motion looks at the evidence to decide whether there is a genuine issue requiring a trial. They can sometimes be brought together, but they ask different questions.
Can a defence be struck for the same reasons as a claim?
Yes. The same general grounds — no reasonable defence disclosed, scandalous or vexatious content, abuse of process — apply to defences as well as claims, and a defendant facing a struck defence can face the same default judgment risk as one who never defended at all.
This is a litigation question
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