Statement of Claim (ROCP)

RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

14.01 (1) A proceeding shall be commenced by the issuing of an originating process.

14.02 Every proceeding in the court shall be by action, except where a statute or these rules provide otherwise.

14.03 (1) The originating process for the commencement of an action is a statement of claim (Form 14A (general) or 14B (mortgage actions)), except as provided by,

(a) subrule (2) (notice of action);

(b) Revoked: O. Reg. 131/04, s. 5 (1).

(c) rule 27.03 (counterclaim against person not already a party);

(d) subrule 29.02 (1) (third party claim); and

(e) rule 29.11 (fourth and subsequent party claims). R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 14.03 (1); O. Reg. 131/04, s. 5 (1).

25.01 (1) In an action commenced by statement of claim or notice of action, pleadings shall consist of the statement of claim (Form 14A, 14B or 14D), statement of defence (Form 18A) and reply (Form 25A), if any.

25.02 Pleadings shall be divided into paragraphs numbered consecutively, and each allegation shall, so far as is practical, be contained in a separate paragraph.

25.05 Pleadings in an action are closed when,

(a) the plaintiff has delivered a reply to every defence in the action or the time for delivery of a reply has expired; and

(b) every defendant who is in default in delivering a defence in the action has been noted in default. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.05.

25.06 (1) Every pleading shall contain a concise statement of the material facts on which the party relies for the claim or defence, but not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (1).

(2) A party may raise any point of law in a pleading, but conclusions of law may be pleaded only if the material facts supporting them are pleaded. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (2).

(3) Allegations of the performance or occurrence of all conditions precedent to the assertion of a claim or defence of a party are implied in the party’s pleading and need not be set out, and an opposite party who intends to contest the performance or occurrence of a condition precedent shall specify in the opposite party’s pleading the condition and its non-performance or non-occurrence. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (3).

(4) A party may make inconsistent allegations in a pleading where the pleading makes it clear that they are being pleaded in the alternative. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (4).

(5) An allegation that is inconsistent with an allegation made in a party’s previous pleading or that raises a new ground of claim shall not be made in a subsequent pleading but by way of amendment to the previous pleading. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (5).

(6) Where notice to a person is alleged, it is sufficient to allege notice as a fact unless the form or a precise term of the notice is material. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (6).

(7) The effect of a document or the purport of a conversation, if material, shall be pleaded as briefly as possible, but the precise words of the document or conversation need not be pleaded unless those words are themselves material. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (7).

(8) Where fraud, misrepresentation, breach of trust, malice or intent is alleged, the pleading shall contain full particulars, but knowledge may be alleged as a fact without pleading the circumstances from which it is to be inferred. O. Reg. 61/96, s. 1.

(9) Where a pleading contains a claim for relief, the nature of the relief claimed shall be specified and, where damages are claimed,

(a) the amount claimed for each claimant in respect of each claim shall be stated; and

(b) the amounts and particulars of special damages need only be pleaded to the extent that they are known at the date of the pleading, but notice of any further amounts and particulars shall be delivered forthwith after they become known and, in any event, not less than ten days before trial. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, r. 25.06 (9).