PLD 2023 Lahore 601
Order II Rule 2 requires that a plaintiff must join all claims arising from the same set of facts in a single proceeding instead of bringing successive actions. The bar contained in the rule is against splitting the claim in respect of the cause of action and not the cause of action itself. A cause of action is simply the technical, legal name representing the facts which give rise to a claim enforceable in court. Although the term claim is generally used interchangeably with cause of action, its use within the confines of the rule refers to a right which would be enforceable if decreed by the court. The cause of action signifies and provides the pivotal ingredients for establishing the basis for legal claim and is also relevant for other purposes such as computation of limitation period, determination of the proper forum for filing of claim (jurisdiction) and locus standi etc. In the case of breach of contract, for example, the injured party might sue for damages or specific performance both of which shall be the claims and facts supporting the breach of contract and losses sustained by the injured party shall constitute the cause of action. A cause of action broadly speaking is the factual matrix forming basis of the claim and it also identifies the legal nature of those claims, which is the technical meaning of a cause of action.

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