The Appellants appealed Judgment against them for breach of contract. One of the Appellants’ grounds of appeal was that the Trial Judge improperly awarded the Respondent damages for certain unpaid invoices (the “Unpaid Invoice”) as such damages were not expressly claimed in the Respondent’s Amended Statement of Claim (the “Claim”).

The Court noted that Courts should generally avoid granting remedies that are not expressly or implicitly sought in the pleadings. The pleadings inform the parties and the Court of the facts on which the plaintiff bases its claim, and the defendant bases its defence. However, the Court also noted that section 8 of the Judicature Act, RSA 2000, c J-2 and Rule 1.3(2) provides Courts with a discretionary power to grant remedies that are not claimed or sought in the pleadings if it is fair and just to do so.

The Court found that the Claim made it sufficiently clear that the Respondent claimed for the Unpaid Invoice and dismissed this ground of appeal.