Civil Procedure - defence - notice of intention to rely on statutory
defence - defence only succeeds if five days' notice given of intention
to rely on it: A defence under s. 180(1) of the Freetown Municipality
Ordinance, 1927, that the plaintiff has failed to give one month's notice
of his intention to issue a writ against the City Council, is a special
defence which can only succeed if notice of the defendants' intention to
rely on it is filed five clear days before the return date of the summons,
as required by O.IX, r. 7 of the County Court Rules, even though the
concluding words of s. 180(1) put the burden of proof on the plaintiff
to show that he gave appropriate notice in writing of his intention to
issue the writ.