Pleadings

The pleadings are the formal allegations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses, for the judgment of the court Co.de Civ. Proc. Cal. f 420. The individual allegations of the respective parties to an action at common law, proceeding from them alternately, in the order and under the distinctive names following: The plaintiff's declaration, the defendant's plea, the plaintiff's replication, the defendant's rejoinder, the plaintiff's surrejoinder, the defendant's rebutter, the plaintiff's surrebutter; after which they have no distinctive names.

Burrill.

The term "pleadings" has a technical and well-defined meaning. Pleadings are written allegations of what is affirmed on the one side, or denied on the other, disclosing to the court or jury having to try the cause the real matter in dispute between the parties.

Desnoyer v. Ilereux, 1 Minn. 17 (Gil. 1).