Civil procedure is the law of how private rights are actually extracted from other people. Pleadings are the first filter. A plaint that does not disclose a cause of action can be rejected. A defence that is a bare denial invites judgment. Learn the Civil Procedure Rules as a set of duties, not as folklore.
Civil Procedure · Lecture notes
Pleadings that Survive: Facts, Not Evidence
What a plaint must contain, what a written statement of defence must do, and how to think about striking out.
Hornbook Faculty4 min read0 reads
Plead facts, not evidence, and not law. Name the parties, the facts constituting the cause of action, when it arose, that the court has jurisdiction, and the relief sought. If a statutory notice or limitation period matters, plead the facts that satisfy it. Attach the documents the rules require. A missing particular is cheaper to fix now than at trial.
The defence
Every allegation not traversed is admitted. A general denial is usually insufficient. The defendant must take a position: admit, deny, or confess and avoid. Set-offs and counterclaims have their own pleading rules; do not hide a counterclaim in a paragraph of complaint.
Striking out and amendment
A pleading may be struck out where it discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence, is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious, or is otherwise an abuse of process. Amendment is liberal before trial if it does not cause irreparable prejudice and does not introduce a time-barred claim by stealth. Courts prefer deciding merits. That is a principle, not a promise.
The function of pleadings is to ascertain with precision the matters upon which the parties differ and the points on which they agree.
— classic function of pleadings