Denial of facts.

Allegation of con

tract.

Documents.

Malice, &c.

19. No pleading, not being a petition or summons, shall, except by way of amendment, raise any new ground of claim or contain any allegation of fact inconsistent with the previous pleadings of the party pleading the same.

Rule 19 would not, according to the old practice, apply to petitions on protest or against the registrar's report, and it would not be considered now as applicable to these

cases.

20. It shall not be sufficient for a defendant in his defence to deny generally the facts alleged by the statement of claim, or for a plaintiff in his reply to deny generally the facts alleged in a defence by way of counter-claim, but each party must deal specifically with each allegation of fact of which he does not admit the truth.

21. Subject to the last preceding rule, the plaintiff by his reply may join issue upon the defence, and each party in his pleading, if any, subsequent to reply, may join issue upon the previous pleading. Such joinder of issue shall operate as a denial of every material allegation of fact in the pleading upon which issue is joined, but it may except any facts which the party may be willing to admit, and shall then operate as a denial of the facts not so admitted.

22. When a party in any pleading denies an allegation of fact in the previous pleading of the opposite party, he must not do so evasively, but answer the point of substance. Thus, if it be alleged that he received a certain sum of money, it shall not be sufficient to deny that he received that particular amount, but he must deny that he received that sum or any part thereof, or else set out how much he received. And so, when a matter of fact is alleged with divers circumstances, it shall not be sufficient to deny it as alleged along with those circumstances, but a fair and substantial answer must be given.

23. When a contract is alleged in any pleading, a bare denial of the contract by the opposite party shall be construed only as a denial of the making of the contract in fact, and not of its legality or its sufficiency in law, whether with reference to the Statute of Frauds or otherwise.

24. Wherever the contents of any document are material, it shall be sufficient in any pleading to state the effect thereof as briefly as possible, without setting out the whole or any part thereof, unless the precise words of the document or any part thereof are material.

25. Wherever it is material to allege malice, fraudulent intention, knowledge, or other condition of the mind of any person, it shall be

sufficient to allege the same as a fact, without setting out the circumstances from which the same is to be inferred.

26. Wherever it is material to allege notice to any person of any fact, matter, or thing, it shall be sufficient to allege such notice as a fact, unless the form or the precise terms of such notice be material.

27. Wherever any contract or any relation between any persons Implied does not arise from an express agreement, but is to be implied from contracts. a series of letters or conversations, or otherwise from a number of circumstances, it shall be sufficient to allege such contract or relation as a fact, and to refer generally to such letters, conversations, or circumstances without setting them out in detail. And, if in such case the person so pleading desires to rely in the alternative upon more contracts or relations than one as to be implied from such circumstances, he may state the same in the alternative.

fact.

28. Neither party need in any pleading allege any matter of fact Presumpwhich the law presumes in his favour, or as to which the burden of tion of proof lies upon the other side, unless the same has first been specifically denied.

[E.g. Consideration for a bill of exchange where the plaintiff sues only on the bill, and not for the consideration as a substantive ground of claim.]

30. In actions for damage by collisions between vessels, unless the PrelimiCourt or a judge shall otherwise order, each solicitor shall, before nary Acts. any pleading is delivered, file with the proper officer a document to be called a Preliminary Act, which shall be sealed up and shall not be opened until ordered by the Court or a judge, and which shall contain a statement of the following particulars:

(a.) The names of the vessels which came into collision and the names of their masters.

(b.) The time of the collision.

(c.) The place of the collision.

(d.) The direction of the wind. (e.) The state of the weather.

(f.) The state and force of the tide.

(9.) The course and speed of the vessel when the other was first

seen.

(h.) The lights, if any, carried by her.

(i.) The distance and bearing of the other vessel when first seen. (k.) The lights, if any, of the other vessel which were first seen. (1.) Whether any lights of the other vessel, other than those first seen, came into view before the collision.

(m.) What measures were taken, and when, to avoid the collision. (n.) The parts of each vessel which first came into contact.

Pleadings

If both solicitors consent, the Court or judge may order the Preliminary Acts to be opened and the evidence to be taken thereon without its being necessary to deliver any pleadings.

The object of the Preliminary Act is to have the leading circumstances of the collision placed in a formal documentary shape whilst fresh in the recollection of the parties; any application, therefore, to amend the Act must be made at once, and no amendment will be allowed at the hearing (The Vortigern, Swa. 518; The Frankland, L. R. 3 Ad. 511; 41 L. J. Ad. 3).

And Preliminary Acts are only required in actions by one ship against another for damage caused by collision, and not where an action is brought by some one other than the owner of the injured vessel, as, by the owner of cargo laden on board a ship, against that ship, for damage caused by collision with another vessel (The John Boyne, 36 L. T. N. S. 29; 25 W. R. 756).

A party should not, at the hearing, contradict his Preliminary Act (The Vortigern, supra). And an order is in all cases necessary if it is desired to open the Preliminary Acts.

The case is very seldom tried on the Preliminary Act only.

29. Where an action proceeds in a district registry, all pleadings in district and other documents required to be filed shall be filed in the district registry.

registry.

Pleading matters

ORDER XX.

PLEADING MATTERS ARISING PENDING THE ACTION.

1. Any ground of defence which has arisen after action brought, but before the defendant has delivered his statement of defence, and which arise before the time limited for his doing so has expired, may be pleaded by the defendant in his statement of defence, either alone or together with other grounds of defence. And if, after a statement of defence

pending hearing

has been delivered, any ground of defence arises to any set-off or counter-claim alleged therein by the defendant, it may be pleaded by the plaintiff in his reply, either alone or together with any other ground of reply.

2. Where any ground of defence arises after the defendant has delivered a statement of defence, or after the time limited for his doing so has expired, the defendant may, and where any ground of defence to any set-off or counter-claim arises arter reply, or after the time limited for delivering a reply has expired, the plaintiff may, within eight days after such ground of defence has arisen, and by leave of the Court or a judge, deliver a further defence or further reply, as the case may be, setting forth the same.

3. Whenever any defendant, in his statement of defence, or in any further statement of defence as in the last rule mentioned, alleges any ground of defence which has arisen after the commencement of the action, the plaintiff may deliver a confession of such defence, which confession may be in the Form No. 2 in Appendix (B.) hereto, with such variations as circumstances may require, and he may thereupon sign judgment for his costs up to the time of the pleading of such defence, unless the Court or a judge shall, either before or after the delivery of such confession, otherwise order.

ORDER XXI.

STATEMENT OF CLAIM.

1. Subject to Rules 2 and 3 of this Order, the delivery of state- Delivery of ments of claim shall be regulated as follows :—

(a.) If the defendant shall not state that he does not require the delivery of a statement of claim, the plaintiff shall, unless otherwise ordered by the Court or a judge, deliver it within six weeks from the time of the defendant's entering his appearance.

(b.) The plaintiff may, if he think fit, at any time after the issue of the writ of summons, deliver a statement of claim with the writ of summons or notice in lieu of writ of summons, or at any time afterwards, either before or after appearance, and although the defendant may have appeared and stated that he does not require a statement of claim: Provided that in no case where a defendant has appeared shall a statement be delivered more than six weeks after the appearance has been entered, unless otherwise ordered by the Court or a judge.

statement of claim.

Time for delivery of statement of claim

in actions

in rem. Where writ is specially indorsed.

(c.) Where a plaintiff delivers a statement of claim without being required to do so, the Court or a judge may make such order as to the costs occasioned thereby as shall seem just, if it appears that the delivery of a statement of claim was unnecessary or improper.

As to enlarging time, O. lvii., r. 6.

3. In Admiralty actions in rem, the plaintiff shall, within twelve days from the appearance of the defendant, deliver his statement of claim.

4. Where the writ is specially indorsed, and the defendant has not dispensed with a statement of claim, it shall be sufficient for the plaintiff to deliver as his statement of claim a notice to the effect that his claim is that which appears by the indorsement upon the writ, unless the Court or a judge shall order him to deliver a further statement. Such notice may be either written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, and may be in the Form No. 3 in Appendix (B.) hereto, and shall be marked on the face in the same manner as is required in the case of an ordinary statement of claim. And when the plaintiff is ordered to deliver such further statement, it shall be delivered within such time as by such order shall be directed; and, if no time be so limited, then within the time prescribed by Rule 1 of this Order.

ORDER XXII.

DEFENCE.

Delivery of 1. Where a statement of claim is delivered to a defendant he shall statement deliver his defence within eight days from the delivery of the statement of claim, or from the time limited for appearance, whichever shall be last, unless such time is extended by the Court or a judge.

of defence.

As to demurrers, see O. xxviii., r. 3. a "defence" (Hodges v. Hodges, 2 Ch. D. 293).

A demurrer is 112; 24 W. R.

2. A defendant who has appeared in an action and stated that he does not require the delivery of a statement of claim, and to whom a statement of claim is not delivered, may deliver a defence at any time within eight days after his appearance, unless such time is extended by the Court or a judge.