Law360 Canada ( June 24, 2022, 5:25 AM EDT) -- Motion by the defendant Ontario Osteopathic Association to strike the statement of claim without leave to amend. Cross-motion by the plaintiff Ontario Federation of Osteopathic Professionals for leave to amend the statement of claim to advance causes of action for damages under the Trademarks Act and for the intentional interference with its economic relations. The plaintiff was a corporation that represented approximately 180 osteopathic practitioners in Ontario. The defendant was also a corporation that represented osteopathic practitioners in Ontario. It was a competitor of the plaintiff. Osteopathic practitioners could be trained in one of two ways, referred to as Type I and Type II training. The plaintiff’s members all received Type II training while the defendant’s members all received Type I training. In 2018, the defendant participated in a conference hosted by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association. The defendant displayed a PowerPoint presentation that compared the two types of training and essentially concluded that recognizing osteopathic practitioners who had Type II training created an enhanced risk of insurance fraud. Because of the defendant’s presentation, the Type II trained osteopaths, including the plaintiff’s members, were de-listed by a major health insurer, Industrial Alliance. The plaintiff sued Industrial Alliance as a result. Initially, the statement of claim in this action advanced a claim in defamation against the defendant. The plaintiff did not sue for defamation or damage to itself but purported to represent its members in advancing their defamation and loss of professional revenue claims against the defendant. However, the plaintiff did not bring a class action. Instead, it asserted that it had authority to represent its members in suing for the tort committed against or upon them. The defendant moved to strike the initial claim principally on the basis that, as an incorporated association of members, the plaintiff had no right to advance a defamation claim on behalf of its members. As a result, the plaintiff now moved to amend the statement of claim....