What is cause of action?
A cause of action can be simply defined as a specific legal claim that a party wants to bring against another party in a lawsuit. The term refers to the cause or the set circumstances which leads up to an action in court. It is a basis for which the lawsuit is initiated. In the case of Gov of Malaysia v Lim Kit Siang [1988] 2 MLJ 12, Salleh Abas LP defined a cause of action as:
"... a statement of facts alleging that a plaintiff's right, either at law or by statute, has in some way or another, been adversely affected or prejudiced by the act of a defendant in an action"
The term cause of action also refers to every fact, which is necessary for the plaintiff to prove in order to entitle him to an order or judgment in a civil action.
In the case of Nasri v Mesah [1971] 1 MLJ 32, Gill FJ held: "a cause of action is the entire set of facts that gives rise to an enforceable claim."
It does not however include every piece of evidence which is necessary to prove each fact, but only every fact, which is necessary to be proved to entitle the plaintiff to an order or judgment in an action. It is in order words a condition precedent to the commencement of an action. Every claim must disclose a cause of action before the court will agree to proceed to adjudicate the dispute.
What happens when there is no cause of action?
If there is no cause of action , the court may strike out the action and no remedy will be awarded to the plaintiff
How is cause of action proved?
To prove that there is a cause of action , it must be shown that the cause of action is complete or has matured. Cause of action will be complete only if all the facts that are necessary to be proved have happened.
For example, in the case of Taib B. Awang v Mohamad B. Abdullah & Ors [1983] 2 MLJ 413, the plaintiff brought an action in a civil court against the defendants for maliciously prosecuting him in the Kadi Court. When the plaintiff was prosecuted in the Kadi Court, he was found guilty and was sentenced to two weeks.
The plaintiff was appealed on the decision of the Kadi Court . Before the appeal was disposed of he brought this action in the civil court. The court held that for the plaintiff to succeed in a claim for malicious prosecution, he must prove that the proceedings complained of terminated in his favour. Since the appeal had not been disposed of , his action was held to be premature.
The above case clearly illustrates that to prove a cause of action , all the separate elements that give rise to the claim must be proven to have happened . To claim malicious prosecution , one of the important facts that need to be satisfied is, prosecution ended up in the plaintiff's favour. Failure to establish this fact , the cause of action is still premature.
When does cause of action commence?
Cause of action commences when there is a person who can sue and another who can be sued, and when all the facts which are material to be proved to entitle the plaintiff to succeed have happened. Besides that, cause of action accrues when it is complete and mature. In other words, it accrues when all the factual circumstances for the establishment of a cause of action had occurred.
In the case of Lim Kean v Choo Koon [1970] 1 MLJ 158, it was held that ' the period of limitation does not begin to run until there is a complete cause of action, and a cause of action is not complete when all the facts have not happened which are material to be proved to entitle the plaintiff to succeed.'
A cause of action founded on contract accrues on its breach. Other than that, in the case of actions founded on any other rights. time starts to run from the date on which that right is infringed or there is a threat of infringement . In Gibbs v Guild [1881] 8 QBD 296, Viscount Dunedin described a cause of action as that which makes action possible . For example, what makes possible an action founded on a cause of action founded on a contract accrues as soon as the contractual duty is breached. For example, in negligence case, cause of action accrues when some damage occurs because negligence is only actionable on proof of damages. Therefore in order to establish negligence as a cause of action, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff , the defendant breached that duty by failing to conform to the required standard of care, the defendant's negligent conduct caused by harm to the plaintiff , and as a consequence the plaintiff was, in fact harmed or damaged.
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