What cause of action means
A cause of action is the combination of facts that entitles a person to a remedy from a court.
It is not the same as a grievance. Somebody may have been treated badly, unfairly or dishonestly and still have no cause of action, because the facts do not fit any recognised legal wrong.
Each cause of action has ingredients. Breach of contract requires a contract, a term, a breach and loss. Negligence requires a duty of care, a breach of it, causation and damage that is not too remote. Defamation requires a false defamatory statement referring to the claimant and published to a third party.
A claim must disclose a reasonable cause of action on the face of the pleadings. Where it does not, the defendant applies to strike it out, and the claim ends without the evidence ever being heard.
The second function of the concept is timing. The cause of action accrues when all its ingredients first exist, and that is when the limitation clock starts running.
How it is used
For a claimant, the discipline is to identify the cause of action before drafting.
What legal wrong is being alleged. What are its ingredients. Which facts establish each ingredient. What evidence supports each fact.
A statement of claim built that way discloses a cause of action on its face and is difficult to strike out. One built as a narrative of everything that happened, without mapping the facts to a recognised wrong, invites an objection.
Where the facts support more than one cause of action, pleading them in the alternative is normal. A defective building might support breach of contract against the developer and negligence against the engineer, and both can be pleaded.
For a defendant, the first questions on receiving a claim are whether it discloses a cause of action at all, when the cause of action accrued, and whether the limitation period has expired. Those are preliminary points that can end a case without a trial.
And for anybody considering litigation, the accrual date is the one to establish first, because it determines whether there is still time.
Key features
- The combination of facts entitling a person to a remedy
- Each cause of action has defined ingredients that must be pleaded
- A claim not disclosing a reasonable cause of action can be struck out
- Accrual is when all the ingredients first exist
- Accrual starts the limitation clock
- Alternative causes of action can be pleaded together
How this works in Nigeria
The accrual point deserves the most attention, because it interacts with Nigeria's short limitation periods for certain defendants.
A cause of action accrues when the wrong is complete, not when the claimant discovered it or decided to act. A person who was injured in 2019, spent two years in correspondence and then instructed a lawyer, may find the period has run.
Where the defendant is a public officer or a public body, the Public Officers Protection Act imposes a period measured in months, and it is applied strictly. Claims against government agencies are lost on this point regularly.
The second Nigerian point is the striking out application. Preliminary objections that a claim discloses no reasonable cause of action are a standard defence tactic, and they consume time whether or not they succeed.
The answer is drafting. A statement of claim that identifies the wrong, sets out each ingredient and pleads the facts establishing it is difficult to strike out, and the objection is disposed of quickly.
The third is continuing wrongs. Some causes of action accrue afresh as the wrong continues, including continuing trespass and continuing nuisance, so limitation does not bar the whole claim from the first day. Where the wrong is continuing, that should be pleaded expressly, because it affects both the limitation analysis and the relief sought.
And for a claimant unsure whether they have a cause of action at all, that is the question to take advice on before spending anything, rather than after filing.
Cause of action vs jurisdiction vs locus standi
Three preliminary questions a Nigerian court asks, and a defendant tests all three before touching the evidence.
Cause of action asks whether the facts pleaded disclose a legal wrong the court recognises. A genuine grievance that fits no recognised wrong fails here.
Jurisdiction asks whether this court can hear this kind of matter, and it is determined by subject matter and by the monetary limits of the court. An employment claim in a State High Court fails on jurisdiction whatever its merits.
Locus standi asks whether this claimant is entitled to bring it, which requires a sufficient interest in the subject matter.
A claim must survive all three before the merits are reached, which is why the originating process should address each of them on its face rather than leaving them to be argued in response to an objection.
Limits and risks
The requirement can shut out genuine grievances that do not fit a recognised legal wrong, which is a real limitation of the system rather than of the doctrine.
Accrual is also not always obvious, particularly in continuing relationships, instalment obligations and cases of latent damage, and reasonable people disagree about the date.
Striking out applications consume time even when they fail, and they are used tactically.
And the analysis is technical, so a litigant in person may have a strong factual case and fail to articulate it as a cause of action.
Worth knowing
Establish when your cause of action accrued before doing anything else. Nigerian claims against public bodies carry a period measured in months, and claimants lose them while writing polite letters that were never going to produce a result.
Questions people ask
What is a cause of action?
The combination of facts that entitles a person to a remedy from a court. It is not the same as a grievance, because a person can be treated badly and still have no recognised legal wrong to sue on.
What happens if my claim discloses no cause of action?
The defendant applies to strike it out, and the claim can end without the evidence being heard. Drafting that identifies the wrong and pleads each of its ingredients is what prevents this.
When does a cause of action accrue?
When all its ingredients first exist, which is when the wrong is complete. It is not when you discovered it or decided to act, and accrual is what starts the limitation clock.
Can I plead more than one cause of action?
Yes, and in the alternative. A defective building might support breach of contract against the developer and negligence against the engineer, and both can be pleaded together.
Why do claims against government fail on this?
Because the Public Officers Protection Act imposes a period measured in months for acts done in execution of public duty, and it runs from accrual. Claimants lose the window while corresponding.
What about a wrong that is still continuing?
Some causes of action accrue afresh as the wrong continues, including continuing trespass and nuisance, so limitation does not bar the whole claim. Plead the continuing nature expressly.