The defendants brought a motion under Rule 21.01 to strike the plaintiff’s action on the basis that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action, that the court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute was academic in nature, and that the Notice of Action was a nullity.
The plaintiff alleged defamation and negligence arising from allegedly false reports made by a fellow student to university protection services and the university’s subsequent publication of those allegations.
The court held that it was not plain and obvious the court lacked jurisdiction, as the claim concerned torts rather than internal academic decisions.
The court further found the defamation claim was arguable on the pleadings and that the Notice of Action sufficiently identified the nature of the claim.
The motion to strike was dismissed and the plaintiff was granted leave to amend the Statement of Claim.
