Key Points:

• Motion to Strike Out Claim: Defendant filed a motion under rule 21 to strike out the plaintiff's claim, asserting it disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
• Plaintiff's Background: Ahmad Mohammad, a Ph.D. candidate at McMaster University, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.
• Plaintiff's Complaint: Mohammad demanded the retraction of a 1997 paper published by Springer Nature, claiming it was based on fraudulent research. His inability to replicate the study's results and the unresponsiveness of the authors and publisher led to his belief in the paper's fraudulence.
• Impact on Plaintiff: Mohammad’s accusation of fraud caused conflict with his thesis reviewer and supervisor, leading to his expulsion from the Ph.D. program.

Court's Analysis:

• Justiciability: Academic disputes and scientific controversies, absent legal consequences affecting parties' rights, are not within the court's purview.
• Mental Tort Claim: The court considered Mohammad's claim of a "mental tort" due to Asperger’s Syndrome but found it did not meet the criteria for intentional infliction of mental suffering or negligence:
  • Intentional Infliction of Mental Suffering: Lacked evidence of flagrant conduct intended to harm.
  • Negligence: No foreseeable harm from the publication that could be anticipated by the defendant.
• Outcome: The claim failed to disclose a legally recognized cause of action. The motion to strike was granted without leave to amend.

Costs:

• The court awarded costs of $23,350.32 to the defendant, noting Mohammad should have sought legal advice after the initial rule 2.1 motion.

Conclusion: The court ruled in favor of Springer Nature, concluding the claim had no chance of success as it did not present a legally actionable issue.