Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

13 Utah 2d 266

372 P.2d 990

Heathman v. Hatch

Utah Supreme Court

Decided June 26, 1962

Utah Supreme Court · decided 1962-06-26

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“"that the essential facts upon which redress is sought be set forth with simplicity, brevity, clarity and certainty so that it can be determined whether there exists a legal basis for the relief claimed; and, if so, so that there will be a clearly defined foundation upon which further proceedings by way of responsive pleadings and/or trial can go forward in an orderly manner."”

quoted by 3 later decisions, including Mower v. Simpson, America West Bank Members L.C. v. State

“'must be set forth with sufficient particularity to show what facts are claimed to constitute such charges.”

quoted by 3 later decisions, including Williams v. State Farm Insurance Co., 2003 UT App 339 - Coroles v. Sabey

Relies on Morris v. Farnsworth Motel

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1962-06-26

How this case has been cited

Cited by 29 later decisions — most recently October 2014 · most notably Nelson v. Jacobsen (1983), Armed Forces Insurance Exchange v. Harrison (2003)

29 state decisions

80196219701980199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

CROCKETT, Justice.

¶1 Plaintiff Harry G. Heathman, a layman, sues the defendant Sumner J. Hatch, an attorney, for alleged wrongs arising out of the defendant’s representing the plaintiff as counsel in criminal proceedings in which the plaintiff had been charged first with grand larceny and later with grand larceny and embezzlement, which charges have been dismissed.

¶2 In this action plaintiff alleges that the dismissal of the criminal charges was obtained by his own efforts, and complains of the conduct of the defendant as his counsel upon various grounds which we refer to below. He has filed a number of complaints herein, each of which aborted in the face of a challenge to its sufficiency. Upon the entry of an order dismissing what is designated as plaintiff’s second amended complaint, plaintiff declined to re-plead and brought this appeal.

¶3 The defendant’s motion to dismiss having been granted, we are obliged to assume that the averments of plaintiff’s complaint are true. 1 From the various allegations contained in its 33 legal size typewritten pages, it appears that the nature of the grievances which the plaintiff complains about is that the defendant was guilty of “fraud,” “conspiracy” and “negligence”: (1) in representing the plaintiff in connection with the criminal charges; (2) in failing to enforce his “possessory lien” against the automobile and parts which he was accused of stealing; and (3) in failing to sue the complaining witness, Ivan Bland, and others, for filing and prosecuting the criminal charge. It is to be noted that the *268 terms “fraud,” “conspiracy” and “negligence” are but general accusations in the nature of conclusions of the pleader. They will not stand up against a motion to dismiss on that ground. The basic facts must be set forth with sufficient particularity to show what facts are claimed to constitute such charges.

¶4 It is not to be gainsaid that plaintiff as a layman has the right to act as his own attorney and to pursue his own rights in this action; 2 nor, that because of his lack of technical knowledge of law and procedure he should be accorded every consideration that may reasonably be indulged. Nevertheless, it appears from the record that at hearings on motions attacking his complaints, the judges of our district court patiently and at some length explained to him the necessity of observing the following of our Utah Rules of Civil Procedure:

“8(a) Claims for Relief. A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief shall contain (1) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (2) a demand for judgment for the relief to which he deems himself entitled.

¶5 And,

«9 (fo) Fraud, Mistake, Condition of the Mind. In all aver-ments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity.”

¶6 Without burdening this opinion with the details of plaintiff’s much too long and involved complaint, it is sufficient to say that its shortcomings are such that it was well within the discretion of the trial court to conclude that it failed to comply with the rules just stated, and, accordingly, to grant the motion to dismiss. The objective of these rules is to require that the essential facts upon which redress is sought be set forth with simplicity, brevity, clarity and certainty so that it can be determined whether there exists a legal basis for the relief claimed; and, if so, so that there will be a clearly defined foundation upon which further proceedings by way of responsive pleadings and/or trial can go forward in an orderly manner. The dismissal without prejudice affords the plaintiff further opportunity to attempt to state his claims in accordance with the requirements of the rules so these purposes may be accomplished.

¶7 Affirmed. Costs to defendant (respondent).

WADE, C. J., and HENRIOD, Mc-DONOUGH, and CALLISTER, JJ., concur.
2

¶9 . See Sec. 78-51-25, U.C.A.1953.

/13/utah2d/266 · .json · Public domain