LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Pleadings – Statement of Claim Supersedes Writ
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
It is well settled that a Statement of Claim supersedes the writ and must itself disclose a good cause of action; any claim in the writ not claimed in the Statement of Claim is taken to have been abandoned.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"The law that the statement of claim supersedes the writ was conceded by learned counsel for the defendant … It is well settled that a Statement of Claim supersedes the writ and must itself disclose a good cause of action … Any claim in the writ not claimed in the Statement of Claim is taken to have been abandoned."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
The litigation process involves two stages: (1) Writ of Summons—initiates action, briefly states claims; (2) Statement of Claim—details the case, pleads facts and reliefs. The Statement of Claim supersedes the writ, meaning: it becomes the authoritative statement of plaintiff’s case, only claims in the Statement of Claim are pursued, and claims in the writ but not in the Statement of Claim are deemed abandoned. This supersession serves: allowing plaintiffs to refine claims after initial filing, requiring detailed particularization in Statement of Claim, and defining the actual case to be tried. Courts look to the Statement of Claim, not the writ, to determine: what’s claimed, whether a cause of action exists, and what issues require determination. If the writ claims five reliefs but Statement of Claim only claims three, the other two are abandoned. This prevents surprise—defendants respond to Statement of Claim, not writ. Plaintiffs wanting to pursue writ claims must include them in Statement of Claim or they’re lost