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59 Ind. 477

Murphy v. Lambert

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided November 15, 1877

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1877-11-15

<p>Pleading. — Complaint.—Arrest of Judgment. — Justice of the Peace. — The complaint in any action, even before a justice of the peace, must allege facts sufficient to apprise the defendant of the nature of the claim against him, to be sufficient on motion in arrest.</p>

Cited by 2 later decisions — most recently January 1910

2 state decisions

Relies on Crocker v. Hoffman · Powell v. DeHart · Clark v. Benefiel

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1877-11-15

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Niblack, J.

¶1— The appellee sued the appellant before a justice of the peace, on a complaint, as follows:

*478“ Daniel Murphy,
“ To J. H. Lambert, Dr.
Acct........$27.95.”

¶2There was a judgment in favor of the appellee, before the justice.

¶3The appellant appealed to the court below, where, on a trial by the court, there was a finding in favor of the appellee in the sum of thirty dollars and forty-five cents, and, over a motion in arrest of judgment, the court rendered judgment on the finding.

¶4The alleged insufficiency of the complaint is urged here as the reason why the motion in arrest of judgment ought to have been sustained.

¶5No formality is required in a complaint before a justice of the peace, but enough must be shown to apprise the defendant of the nature of the claim against him, and to bar another action for the same demand. Powell v. DeHart, 55 Ind. 94; Crocker v. Hoffman, 48 Ind. 207; Clark v. Benefiel, 18 Ind. 405.

¶6Waiving any other question, we think the complaint in this case did not apprise the defendant of the nature of the claim against him, within the meaning of the rule above laid down, and that the court erred in overruling the appellant’s motion in arrest of judgment.

¶7The judgment is reversed, at the costs of the appellee, and the cause remanded for further proceedings, in accordance with this opinion.

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