Conspiracy and deceit—dismissal of application for strike out/summary judgment (Raja v McMillan)

Article summary

Dispute Resolution analysis: The Court of Appeal has upheld the dismissal of an application for the strike out and/or summary judgment of claims of conspiracy to injure by unlawful means and deceit as a joint tortfeasor. The applicant, Mr McMillan, had argued that each claim was missing at least one essential legal element and was therefore not viable. Mr McMillan’s four grounds of appeal included an interesting point of law regarding the ability of a director to conspire with a company that is his alter ego. A conspiracy requires a combination or agreement between two or more persons acting autonomously. Mr McMillan maintained that ‘this requirement is not met when a puppet conspires with its puppet-master’ (para [54]). The Court of Appeal considered the point raised by Mr McMillan to be one of some difficulty, which required full exploration at trial. Similarly, arguments as to Mr McMillan’s knowledge and state of mind were factual matters plainly unsuitable for summary...