COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

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and cost on the parties to the litigation and on the justice
system. It is essential to the proper operation of the justice
system and beneficial to the parties that claims that have no
chance of success be weeded out at an early stage.
Conversely, it is essential to justice that claims disclosing real
issues that may be successful proceed to trial.
[43] As we shall discuss further below, 5 the amended Rule 20 has given the motion
judge additional tools to assess whether a claim or defence has no chance of success at
trial.
[44] Moreover, the amended Rule 20 now permits a third type of case to be decided
summarily. The rule provides for the summary disposition of cases other than by way of
agreement or where there is “no chance of success”. The prior wording of Rule 20,
whether there was a “genuine issue for trial”, was replaced by “genuine issue requiring a
trial”. This change in language is more than mere semantics. The prior wording served
mainly to winnow out plainly unmeritorious litigation. The amended wording, coupled
with the enhanced powers under rules 20.04(2.1) and (2.2), now permit the motion judge
to dispose of cases on the merits where the trial process is not required in the “interest of
justice”.
[45] The threshold issue in understanding the application of the powers granted to the
motion judge by rule 20.04(2.1) is the meaning to be attributed to the phrase “interest of
5 See paras. 50, 73 and 101-111.