LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE — Pleadings — Ascertaining Plaintiff’s Claim Requires Examination of Entire Statement of Claim Including Survey Plans
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
To ascertain the exact claim of a plaintiff in a suit, one generally must have recourse to the writ of summons and the claim as endorsed in the statement of claim. By way of analogy, to ascertain the plaintiffs' claim it is necessary to examine not only the writ or the claim portion but also other paragraphs of the statement of claim as well as plans filed along with the statement of claim.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Edozie, JSC, in Adelusola & Ors v. Akinde & Ors (2004) NLC-2592001(SC) at p. 8; Paras A–B.
"To ascertain the exact claim of a plaintiff in a suit, one generally must have recourse to the writ of summons and the claim as endorsed in the statement of claim. But just as in determining whether an averment in a particular paragraph of a statement of claim is traversed, one is not limited to a particular paragraph of the statement of defence but to the entire defence ... so by way of analogy, to ascertain the plaintiffs' claim it is necessary to examine not only the writ of summons or the claim portion of the statement of claim but also other paragraphs of the statement of claim as well as plans filed along with the statement of claim."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A plaintiff’s claim must be ascertained by examining the entire statement of claim, not just the claim portion. Survey plans filed with the statement of claim are also relevant to determining the claim. The principle applies to civil pleadings. The court must read the whole pleading to understand the claim. The rule prevents narrow interpretation limited to the prayer alone. Other paragraphs and attachments give context and specificity to the claim.