SYNERGY PROMENADE SDN. BHD v 1. ) THE NEW STRAITS TIMES PRESS (MALAYSIA) BERHAD 2. ) XXXX

Case Significance

Illustrates the striking-out jurisdiction under Order 18 rule 19(1)(a) of the Rules of Court 2012 in defamation proceedings, confirming that a claim which cannot succeed on its pleaded terms will be disposed of summarily rather than allowed to proceed to a full trial.

This High Court decision in Kuala Lumpur concerns the striking out of a defamation claim brought over a series of newspaper articles. The plaintiff company, later joined by related plaintiffs in a consolidated proceeding, had sued a newspaper publisher and a journalist, alleging that they had been defamed by articles published in connection with the transfer of certain lands. The defendants applied to strike out the claim under Order 18 rule 19(1)(a) of the Rules of Court 2012 on the ground that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action. That provision is directed at pleadings that are unsustainable on their face, and by its own terms no evidence is admissible on such an application, so that the court decides the question by reference to the pleading itself. The court reaffirmed that the power to strike out under this rule is reserved for plain and obvious cases, and, having examined the plaintiffs' pleaded case against the impugned articles, found that this was one such case: the claim disclosed no reasonable cause of action in defamation. The court also referred to its power under Order 34 rule 1 to make, of its own motion, the orders and directions most apt for the just, expeditious and economical disposal of the proceedings, reflecting the policy that a claim which cannot succeed should not be permitted to consume the resources of a full trial. It accordingly struck out the plaintiffs' claim against the defendants. The judgment illustrates the operation of the striking-out jurisdiction in defamation proceedings, and confirms that a claim which cannot succeed on its pleaded terms will be brought to an end summarily rather than proceed to trial. Heard together with a companion suit between the same parties over a related publication, it forms part of a coordinated disposal of the plaintiffs' defamation claims.