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2. The like, from a Gaoler (k).

[Follow the preceding form, but state the demand thus:] demand of you the perusal and copy of the warrant of commitment or other the instrument by virtue or under colour whereof you received the said A. B. into your custody on or about the last, and kept and detained him. [days] then next following.

in custody for the space of

day of

3. The like, from a Rate-Collector (1).

[Follow form No. 1, but state the demand thus:] demand of you the perusal and copy of the warrant or other the instrument by virtue or under colour whereof, on or about the last, you broke and

day of

Street, in the

entered the dwelling-house of the said A. B., No. parish of, in the county of, and seized therein divers goods and chattels of the said A. B., and thereafter carried the same away and sold the same [or as the case may be].

SECTION III.-TENDER OF AMENDS.

1. Notice of Tender of Amends before Action is brought (m).

To A. B., of

Take notice that I [as solicitor (or agent) for and on behalf of (insert name of corporation, or name, address, and addition of the person on whose behalf the tender is made)] herewith tender to you [as agent for C. D., of -] the sum of £, as amends for the following alleged matter [or matters] of complaint by you [or the said C. D.], viz., [specify the matter or matters in respect of which the amends are tendered].

[This tender of amends is not to be construed as involving any admission by me (or by the said) that I (or the said ) is under any legal liability to you (or the said C. D.) in respect of the said alleged matter (or matters) of complaint, or that any allegation concerning the same made by you (or by or on behalf of the said C. D.) is true.]

[The said sum of £, if accepted by you (or by or on behalf of the said C. D.) is to be accepted in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims by you (or the said C. D.) in respect of the said alleged matter (or all the said alleged matters) of complaint.]

Dated the

day of

19-.

Yours, &c., E. F.,
Of-

(k) A gaoler who receives and detains a prisoner under the warrant of a magistrate, is within the Act (Butt v. Newman, Gow, 97).

(1) The Act applies to a rate-collector under an Act of Parliament, to whom a distress warrant is directed (Pedley v. Daris, 10 C. B. N. S. 492; 30 L. J. C. P. 374).

(m) In actions for damages, to which the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893,

2. Notice, giving Opportunity of Tendering Amends before Action brought (n).

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I hereby [as solicitor for A. B., of -] give you notice that I intend [or my said client intends], at the expiration of days from the date of your receiving this notice [make the notice of a reasonable length, having regard to all the circumstances of the case], to commence an action against you [or the above-named E. F.], to recover damages for [state sufficiently the matter or matters complained of], unless in the meantime you [or the said E. F.] make satisfactory compensation to me [or my said client] in respect of the said matter [or matters] of complaint.

Dated the

day of

19-.

Yours, &c., G. F.,
Of

3. Acknowledgment of Receipt of Amends in Satisfaction of Cause of Action.

I, A. B., of - day of to and accepted by me, in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims by me against the said C. D. in respect of [here state concisely, but with sufficient clearness, the matter or matters in question; e.g., in respect of any damage or loss sustained, or to be sustained, by me by reason of personal injury to myself, or of damage to my horse or cart, or other goods, or of any other damage whatever arising out of or connected with the accident to my horse and cart in the day of, 19]. (Signed) A. B.

-, hereby acknowledge the receipt by me this 19—, of the sum of £, paid by C. D., of

Witness, W. W.,

Of

Road on the

applies, the defendant may plead tender of amends before action brought (see s. 1 (c) of that Act). In some cases it may be advisable to accompany the tender with a notice to the above effect. No particular form of notice is prescribed.

Tender of amends before action brought is also a good defence to an action by a tenant against his landlord for an irregular distress (11 Geo. 2, c. 19, s. 20). As to tender of amends before action brought for trespass to land, see 21 Jac. 1, c. 16, s. 5. (a) Before commencing an action for damages, to which the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893, applies, the plaintiff should give the defendant a sufficient opportunity of tendering amends (see s. 1 (d) of that Act). As a rule it is advisable to do this by means of a notice or letter to the above effect.

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V.

IV. JUDGMENT IN DEFAULT OF APPEARANCE
PROCEEDINGS TO OBTAIN JUDGMENT UNDER
ORDER XIV

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85

CHAPTER I.

THE WRIT OF SUMMONS (a).

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Writ of Summons for Service within Jurisdiction
Writ of Summons for Service out of Jurisdiction
Substituted or other Service.

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51

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(a) Writ of Summons.]—By R. S. C., Ord. I., r. 1," All actions which, previously to the commencement of the principal Act, were commenced by writ in the Superior Courts of Common Law at Westminster, or in the Court of Common Pleas at Lancaster, or in the Court of Pleas at Durham, and all suits which, previously to the commencement of the principal Act, were commenced by bill or information in the High Court of Chancery, or by a cause in rem or in personam in the High Court of Admiralty, or by citation or otherwise in the Court of Probate, shall be instituted in the High Court of Justice by a proceeding to be called an action."

By Ord. II., r. 1, "Every action in the High Court shall be commenced by a writ of summons, which shall be indorsed with a statement of the nature of the claim made, or of the relief or remedy required in the action, and which shall specify the Division of the High Court to which it is intended that the action should be assigned." As to assigning actions to particular Divisions, see post, n. (d).

Issue of Writ.]—By Ord. V., r. 10, "Writs of summons shall be prepared by the plaintiff or his solicitor, and shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on paper of the same description as by these Rules directed in the case of proceedings directed to be printed." (See Ord. LXVI., r. 3, post, “ Pleadings.”)

SECTION I.-WRIT OF SUMMONS FOR SERVICE WITHIN THE
JURISDICTION (a).

1. Ordinary Form of Writ not specially indorsed (b).

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C. D. and E. F................Defendants (g).

Edward the Seventh, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith (h).

By Ord. V., r. 11, "Every writ of summons shall be sealed by the proper officer, and shall thereupon be deemed to be issued."

By r. 12, "The plaintiff or his solicitor shall, on presenting any writ of summons for sealing, leave with the officer a copy, written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on paper of the description aforesaid, of such writ and all the indorsements thereon, and such copy shall be signed by or for the solicitor leaving the same, or by the plaintiff himself if he sues in person."

By r. 13, The officer receiving such copy shall file the same, and an entry of the filing thereof shall be made in a book to be called the Cause Book, which is to be kept in the manner in which cause books are now kept, and the action shall be distinguished by the date of the year, a letter, and a number, in the manner in which causes are now distinguished in such cause books; and when such action shall be commenced in a District Registry, it shall be further distinguished by the name of such Registry." See as to issue of writs out of District Registries, post, Part XIII.

By Ord. V., r. 2, "Every writ of summons not issued out of a District Registry shall be issued out of the Central Office."

The issuing of a writ is not a judicial act, and the Court may, if necessary, inquire into the exact time of the day at which it is issued (Clarke v. Bradlaugh, 8 Q. B. D. 63). (b) Form of Writ.]—By Ord. II., r. 3, “The writ of summons for the commencement of an action shall, except in the cases in which any different form is hereinafter provided, be in one of the forms Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, in Appendix A., Part I., with such variations as circumstances may require." The form No. 1, in the text above, is the form No. 1 referred to in this Rule, filled in and completed so as to meet the requirements of the other Rules.

By r. 2, “Any costs occasioned by the use of any forms of writs, and of indorsements thereon, other or more prolix than the forms hereinafter prescribed, shall be borne by the party using the same, unless the Court or a Judge shall otherwise direct."

An omission to insert in or indorse on the writ, or copy of it, any of the matters required by the Rules, will not render the writ or copy void, but will make it liable to be set aside as irregular under Ord. LXX. Under that Order, however, it may be amended instead of being set aside; and by Ord. XXVIII., r. 12, a Master has power at any time to allow the plaintiff to amend the writ.

(e) Year, Letter, and Number.]—These must correspond with the entry in the Cause Book (Ord. V., r. 13, supra). The year is that in which the action is commenced; the letter is the initial letter of the surname of the first plaintiff; and the number represents its order of entry in the Cause Book.

(d) Court and Division.]—The writ must specify the Division of the High Court to which the action is assigned (Ord. II., r. 1, supra). Subject to the power of transfer given by Ord. XLIX., and the provisions of the Judicature Act, 1873, s. 34, whereby

To C. D. (i), of (k), in the county of the county of—————].

[and E. F., of, in

certain matters are assigned to particular Divisions, the plaintiff may assign his action to any Division which he thinks fit (Judicature Act, 1875, s. 11; Ord. V., r. 5; see post, Transfer of Actions").

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By R. S. C., Ord. V., r. 5, “ Subject to the power of transfer, every person by whom any cause or matter may be commenced in the High Court of Justice, which would have been within the non-exclusive cognizance of the High Court of Admiralty if the principal Act had not passed, shall assign such cause or matter to any one of the Divisions of the said High Court, including the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, as he may think fit, by marking the document by which the same is commenced with the name of the Division, and giving notice thereof to the proper officer of the Court."

By Ord. V., r. 14, "Notice to the proper officer of the assignment of an action to any Division of the Court shall be sufficiently given by leaving with him the copy of the writ of summons."

Where the writ is issued out of a District Registry, the name of the Registry must be added (Ord. V., r. 13, supra; see post," Proceedings in District Registries").

Assignment to Master.]—By Ord. V., r. 6, “Every action in the Queen's Bench Division, not proceeding in a District Registry, shall be assigned to one of the Masters of the Supreme Court at the time and in manner provided by Ord. LIV., and all documents and proceedings therein shall thereafter be marked with the name of the Master to whom the action has become so assigned, and every application or proceeding therein which by these Rules is to be heard and dealt with by a Master, including taxation of the costs, shall be heard and dealt with by such Master." (e) The Parties.]-As to the parties to actions generally, see 1 Chit. Pl. (7th ed.) 1 et seq. As to the rules as to parties in actions by and against particular persons, "Married Women," e.g., Infants," Lunatics," "Bankrupts," "Executors and Administrators," &c., see post, Part IX. As to adding, striking out, and substituting parties, see post, Part IX., Ch. I.

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(f) Plaintiffs.]—By Ord. XVI., r. 1, “All persons may be joined in one action as plaintiffs, in whom any right to relief in respect of or arising out of the same transaction or series of transactions is alleged to exist, whether jointly, severally, or in the alternative, where if such persons brought separate actions any common questions of law or fact would arise; provided that if upon the application of any defendant it shall appear that such joinder may embarrass or delay the trial of the action the Court or a Judge may order separate trials, or make such other order as may be expedient; and judgment may be given for such one or more of the plaintiffs as may be found to be entitled to relief, for such relief as he or they may be entitled to, without any amendment. But the defendant, though unsuccessful. shall be entitled to his costs occasioned by so joining any person who shall not be found entitled to relief, unless the Court or a Judge in disposing of the costs shall otherwise direct."

See Oxford and Cambridge Universities v. Gill, [1899] 1 Ch. 55; Drincqbier v. Wood, [1899] 1 Ch. 393; Walters v. Green, [1899] 2 Ch. 696; Ellis v. Duke of Bedford, [1899] 1 Ch. 494, [1901] A. C. 1; Stroud v. Lawson, [1898] 2 Q. B. 44.

By Ord. XVI., r. 9, "Where there are numerous persons having the same interest in one cause or matter, one or more of such persons may sue or be sued, or may be authorized by the Court or Judge to defend in such cause or matter, on behalf or for the benefit of all persons so interested." When a plaintiff sues on behalf of himself and others under this Rule, he will not be compelled to give the names and addresses of the persons on whose behalf he sues (Leathley v. M'Andrew, W. N. 1875, 259; Bitt. No. 157, per Huddleston, B. See S. C., W. N. 1876, 38).

Partners may sue in the name of their firm (Ord. XLVIIIA., r. 1; see post, “ Actions by and against Firms").

Plaintiff's Name.]-The christian name and surname of the plaintiff, or of each

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