Skip to main content

10. What can be claimed in a general civil action? What are the examples of claims on an unliquidated sum? Apart from a sum of money (liquidated or not), are there any other possible claims that can be made in a civil action?

Generally, the major claims by the parties in a civil action can be divided into three categories, i.e. (1) monetary claim; (2) non-monetary claim; or (3) a mixed claim (comprising both monetary and non-monetary claims).

 

For monetary claim, it can be sub-divided into a liquidated claim (which does not require the Court’s assessment of loss such as suing for a fixed sum of debt) or an unliquidated claim (which the amount requires the Court’s assessment).  Common examples of unliquidated claim include suing for damages for negligence or for breach of contract where the loss suffered by the Plaintiff needs to be assessed by the Court.

 

Apart from monetary claim (liquidated or not), some other common examples that the plaintiff may also claim in a civil action includes:

  1. Injunction (to order the defendant to rectify or prohibit his or her wrongdoing);
  2. Declaration (by the court as to a party’s right); and
  3. Possession of land (for example in a trespass case).