Pleadings & Pre-Trial Issues

- Part I - Pleadings -

What Are Pleadings?

Pleadings are written/typed statements of material facts filed by parties to an action to establish their respective cases. They are the statements of material facts on which a party relies for his claim or defence.

Pleadings are usually used in actions commenced by writ of summons in the High Court - though some other modes of commencement also use pleadings.

General Types of Pleadings

Type	Description	Time to File
Statement of Claim	Filed by the Claimant; states material facts to be relied on in proof of the claim.	Filed with the writ
Statement of Defence	The Defendant’s answer; states facts relied upon in defence.	21 days (Abuja) / 42 days (Lagos)
Reply	Second pleading by Claimant in answer to new facts raised by Defendant.	14 days after Statement of Defence - O17 r4 Lagos / O15 r3 Abuja
Counterclaim	A cross-action by defendant against claimant in same proceedings – Lokpobiri v Ogala (2016) 3 NWLR (Pt 1499) 328 SC.	With Statement of Defence
Set-Off	A cross monetary claim against the claimant.	With Statement of Defence
Further & Better Particulars	Where pleadings are vague, evasive or over-generalised - or new facts arise.	O17 r1(1)-(4) & r4 Lagos / O15 r1(1)-(3) & r4 Abuja

Counterclaim is “a separate, distinct, independent cross-action wherein the counterclaimant is the claimant to the counter-claim” – Dala Air Services v Sudan Airways (2005) 3 NWLR (Pt 912) 394 CA.