If you have made a claim against someone else and are going through court proceedings, you may have heard terms such as ‘summary judgment’, ‘summary dismissal’ or ‘struck out’. These words all relate to the different ways the courts can treat your matter and, thus, are important to know. However, their meanings can be confusing, and you may not understand how they apply to you. This article explains what summary disposal, judgment, and dismissal mean and how they might affect you and your court proceedings.
What Does ‘Summary Disposal’ Mean?
The term ‘summary disposal’ refers to how a party can terminate court proceedings in its early stages. The court can make orders to summarily dispose of proceedings if it thinks your claim is unlikely to succeed and the proceedings would be a waste of time and money for the other party if they continued. In New South Wales, summary disposal can occur in three ways, which are the courts:
- ordering a summary judgment which favours you (the plaintiff);
- ordering a summary dismissal which favours the other party (the defendant); or
- striking out a pleading.
What is Summary Judgment?
You may seek summary judgment against another party in circumstances where you believe you will definitely succeed in court. This may result in the court ordering a summary judgment. To have a successful summary judgment application, you must establish that there is:
- evidence of facts that justify your claim for summary judgment;
- a belief that the defendant has no defence to the claim; or
- no triable issue because the defendant is relying on an extremely flawed defence that cannot possibly succeed.
A court will order summary judgment in very limited circumstances. This is because a summary judgment limits the defendant from being heard in full by the court. The court needs to be clearly satisfied that it has all the information necessary to make an order that grants you summary judgment. In effect, summary judgments have the same result as if the defendant had lost the matter and orders would be made against them.
Continue reading this article below the formWhat is Summary Dismissal?
In limited circumstances, a defendant can make an application for summary dismissal of your claim. If successful, your claim will be ‘thrown out’ and the proceedings will end. There are three bases on which a defendant can apply for summary dismissal.
1. Frivolous or Vexatious Proceedings
If you commence proceedings that the defendant can prove is ‘frivolous’ or ‘vexatious’, your claim may be at risk of summary dismissal by the courts. ‘Frivolous’ means that the proceedings are unimportant, have limited worth, or are not really serious. Alternatively, proceedings are ‘vexatious’ if they:
- harass or annoy, cause delay or detriment, or have any other wrongful purpose; or
- do not have reasonable grounds.
2. No Reasonable Cause of Action
Here, the court must be satisfied that your claim is so obviously flawed that there is no real prospect of it succeeding. You do not meet this standard if you simply draft a claim poorly. Similarly, a court will not dismiss your claim if it has ‘gaps’. This is because the discovery of more information, such as oral evidence, in the later stages of court proceedings can fill those gaps.
3. Abuse of Process
As a plaintiff, you should not exploit legal proceedings to make a claim against the defendant improperly. This may be considered an abuse of process, which is grounds for summary dismissal. Abuse of process includes, but is not limited to:
- commencing proceedings for an improper purpose, for instance, to motivate a financially benefit outcome in other proceedings;
- commencing proceedings in different courts concerning the same subject matter;
- taking previously determined matters to court; or
- destroying evidence.
When Can a Pleading Be Struck Out?
A pleading is a term used for certain types of court documents used by parties to reflect a formal statement of the cause of action or defence. These include a:
- statement of claim, which you file to assert why you are taking the defendant to court;
- summons, which is a court-issued document ordering you to come to court for the proceedings;
- cross-claim, which the defendant can file if they believe they have an action against you; or
- defence; which is filed by the defendant in response to your claim.
An application to strike out a pleading is not based on whether a party’s case is correct or not, but on the form of the pleading. As such, it is unlikely for the court to dismiss the entire case of proceedings. Instead, it may strike out only a certain pleading or part of it. The reasons for striking out a pleading are explored below.
1. Failure to Disclose a Reasonable Cause of Action or Defence
You or the defendant may be able to prove all of their fact-based allegations. However, those facts may not establish the necessary criteria for a particular cause of action or defence. If this is the case, the court will strike out the pleading.
2. Cause of Prejudice, Delay or Embarrassment
You, responding to a defence or cross-claim, or the defendant, responding to your claim, may not be able to adequately do so because the pleadings contain allegations that are:
- vague or ambiguous;
- unnecessary;
- irrelevant; or
- indecent.
In this scenario, the court will strike out the pleadings.
3. Abuse of the Court Process
It is considered good practice to give the opposing party an opportunity to amend their deficient pleading before applying to the court to strike out a pleading. However, as discussed above, if a pleading is likely to be an abuse of the court process, it will be struck out. Sometimes rather than striking out a pleading, the court will give a party the opportunity to amend their pleadings to correct any issues.
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Key Takeaways
Summary disposal can end court proceedings in the early stages. There are three ways the court can summarily dispose, which are:
- a summary judgment, which benefits the plaintiff;
- a summary dismissal, which benefits the defendant; or
- striking out a pleading.
You, as a plaintiff making a claim against another party in court, should be aware of the differences between them. The way the courts use these powers in your proceeding can affect your claim’s success.
If you would like assistance regarding your court proceedings, our experienced litigation lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
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