Short answer. Yes, it can. Rule 70, Section 5 lets the court, from examining the complaint's allegations and any attached evidence, dismiss the case outright on any apparent ground for dismissal of a civil action, without first summoning the defendant. If no such ground is found, the court must forthwith issue summons instead.

What the law says

The court may, from an examination of the allegations in the complaint and such evidence as may be attached thereto, dismiss the case outright on any of the grounds for the dismissal of a civil action which are apparent therein. If no ground for dismissal is found, it shall forthwith issue summons.

Rule 70, Section 5 — Action on complaint. Read the full provision →

An early screening step

Before an ejectment complaint even proceeds to summoning the defendant, the court examines the allegations in the complaint and whatever evidence may be attached to it, looking for any ground for dismissal of a civil action that is apparent on the face of those materials. This front-end review sits before the case gets underway in earnest, so a plaintiff cannot count on simply filing a complaint and having the process automatically move forward to summons regardless of the complaint's own defects.

Outright dismissal is possible

If such a ground is apparent from that examination, the court may dismiss the case outright at that stage, without the defendant ever needing to be summoned or to answer. This lets clearly defective complaints be weeded out early, before the summary process moves any further, saving the defendant the burden of responding to a case the court can already see does not hold up on its face. Common grounds for dismissal of a civil action, such as lack of jurisdiction or a complaint that fails to state a cause of action, can be just as apparent from the face of an ejectment complaint as from any other complaint, so the same early screening applies here.

The alternative: summons issues right away

If no ground for dismissal is found during that initial examination, the court does not linger — it shall forthwith issue summons, moving the case immediately into the next stage. The screening step is meant to be quick, consistent with the overall summary character of ejectment proceedings, and it is not meant to become a preliminary trial on the merits before the defendant has even been heard from. Once summons issues, the case proceeds through the rest of the summary procedure timeline, with the defendant now required to respond within the period the Rule sets for filing an answer.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.