Case information

Civil Procedure — Statement of claim — Respondents relying on the defence of absolute privilege under the doctrine of witness immunity to have all the applicant’s claims struck as disclosing no reasonable cause of action — Whether it is plain and obvious that the statement of claim discloses no reasonable cause of action — What is the proper approach to determine whether expert immunity privilege applies?

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The applicant, a physician, commenced an action against the respondents alleging that opinions they provided in the context of the administrative proceedings were defamatory or otherwise caused him injury. The applicant sued the respondents (Dr. McMurtry and Western Medical Assessments Corporation (WMAC)) for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, defamation, and wrongful interference with economic relations. The chambers judge struck out the applicant’s claims. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal in part. The Court of Appeal set aside the chambers judge’s order that had struck the claim in its entirety and remitted the matter back to the Court of King’s Bench to determine the other bases for the respondents’ application to strike (i.e., whether the claims were frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise an abuse of process). The Court of Appeal upheld only the portion of the chambers judge’s decision which struck the paragraphs in the claim setting out an action in defamation.