Background & purpose of the system 1 basic institutions, processes, and players 3

Statement of Defence

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  Assert facts to make out defence, don’t get forced into plaintiff’s landscape, set stage for discovery
  
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  Admissions: shall admit every allegation of fact in SoC that isn’t disputed (RPC, 25.07(1))
  
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  Denials (sub (2)): allegations of fact that are not denied will be deemed to be admitted unless the party pleads having no knowledge in respect of the fact
  
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    Whiten v Pilot Insurance: Where defendant does not challenge pleading of particulars prior to trial, defendant cannot thereafter seek to strike out pleading of particulars prior to trial based on substantive inadequacy – see below for remedies
    
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  Affirmative defences: a party shall plead any matter on which the party intends to rely to defeat the claim of the opposite party and which, if not specifically pleaded, might take the opposite party by surprise (RPC, r.25.07(4)
  
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  Copland v Commodore: Here, defendant attempt to justify plaintiffs firing (wrongful dismissal suit) as justified due to misuse of money, but there were not enough facts to support this; the nature of the allegations will have an impact on the degree of specificity required
  

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  Replies: A party who intends to prove a version of the facts different from that pleaded in the opposite party’s defence shall deliver a reply setting out the different version, unless it has already been pleaded in the claim (RCP rr. 25.08, 25.09)
  
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    Uncommon, typically only if something in the defence changes the nature of the claim such that the plaintiff would be taken by surprise (e.g. reframed in a way that takes it beyond what the claim was)
    

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