CIVIL PROCEDURE — Cause of Action — Assessment of Reasonable Cause of Action — Confinement to Plaintiff’s Statement of Claim
Ratio Decidendi
Per Oguntade, JSC, in Chevron Nigeria Limited v. Lonestar Drilling Nigeria Limited (2007) NLC-123-170-2002(SC) at p. 5; Paras B–C. View Source:
"The proposition that a plaintiff has no reasonable cause of action can only be made upon an examination of the facts pleaded in the statement of claim. It has nothing to do with the nature of the defence which the defendant may have to the plaintiff's claim. The court must therefore confine itself only to the averments in the Statement of Claim in the assessment of whether or not the plaintiff has a reasonable cause of action."
Explanation / Scope
The test for a reasonable cause of action is whether the plaintiff’s pleaded facts, if accepted as true, disclose a cause of action known to law. The court does not consider whether the plaintiff will succeed or whether the defendant has a strong defence. The defendant’s response is irrelevant at the preliminary stage of determining whether the claim should be struck out. The rule prevents the premature termination of claims on the basis of defences that may not be established. It also ensures that plaintiffs are not denied their day in court based on the defendant’s untested assertions.