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6 Colo. 36

Brooks v. Paddock

Supreme Court of Colorado

Decided December 15, 1881

Supreme Court of Colorado · decided 1881-12-15

<p>The averments of a complaint can be alone looked to in determining its sufficiency. It must state a cause of action without regard to exhibits.</p>

Relies on Gage v. Lewis · Deitz v. Corwin · Reed v. Shepperd

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1881-12-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently September 1919

4 state decisions

201881189019001910decided

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.

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Elbert, O. J.

¶1The code requires that the complaint shall contain, inter alia, “ a statement of the facts constituting the cause of action.”

¶2The averments of the complaint can alone be looked to in determining its sufficiency.

¶3If defective for want of material allegations, it cannot be aided by reference to exhibits made a part of it.

¶4The complaint must state a cause of action without regard to the exhibits. Deitz et al. v. Corwin et al. 35 Mo. 377; Bowling v. McFarland, 38 Mo. 464; Larimore v. Wells, 29 O. St. 13; Gebhard v. Gardner, 12 Bush, 325; Hill v. Barrett, 14 B. Monroe, 67. This was also the rule under our former practice. Buck et al. v. Fisher et al. 2 Col. 185; Gage v. Lewis, 68 Ill. 618.

¶5The amended complaint in this case does not state the facts constituting the cause of' action, but refers to the exhibit therefor.

¶6Without reference to the exhibit it is unintelligible. Even if the exhibit could be considered,- there is no avérment that the amount claimed by the plaintiff is due on the contract set forth in the exhibit.

¶7There áre other objections to- the relief asked and in part decreed, but they need not be considered.

¶8The complaint was clearly insufficient, and the court erred in overruling the demurrer.

¶9Reversed.

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