To a declaration for words, imputing to the plaintiff, a pawnbroker, that he had committed the unfair and dishonourable practice of duffing, that is, of replenishing or doing up goods, being in his hands in a damaged or worn-out condition, and pledging tbem with other pawnbrokers, the defendant pleaded, that then did replenish and do up divers goods, being in his hands in a damaged or worn out condition, and pledge them with divers other pawnbrokers.
Held: Bad on special demurrer, as not being sufficiently specific. A litigant alleging fraud must let the ‘accused’ know with complete frankness the case he has to meet, and this should be done ‘with the particularity of an indictment’.
Citations:
(1842) 10 MandW 361, [1842] EngR 799, (1842) 152 ER 510
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Lowe v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 28-Feb-2006
The defendant sought to defend the claim for defamation by claiming fair comment. The claimant said that the relevant facts were not known to the defendant at the time of the publication.
Held: To claim facts in aid of a defence of fair . .
Cited – Prince Radu of Hohenzollern v Houston and Another (No 4) QBD 4-Mar-2009
Orders were sought to strike out part of the defendants defence of justification to an allegation of defamation.
Held: Where there remains the possibility of a jury trial, it becomes especially important to identify the issues the jurors are . .
Cited – Lord Ashcroft KCMG v Foley and Others QBD 18-Feb-2011
The claimant sought to strike out defences of justification and fair comment saying that the pleadings were unsustainable for lack of clarity.
Held: The pleadings did contain obfuscation, and ‘if there is a viable defence of justification or . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice
Updated: 06 December 2022; Ref: scu.240319