Pleading

The peculiar science or system of rules and principles, established in the common law, according to which the pleadings or responsive allegations of litigating parties are framed, with a view to preserve technical propriety and to produce a proper issue. The process performed by the parties to a suit or action, in alternately presenting written statements of their contention, each responsive to that which precedes, and cach serving to narrow the field of controversy, until there evolves a single point, affirmed on one side and denied on the other, called the "issue," upon which they then go to trial. The act or step of interposing any one of the pleadings in a cause, but particularly one on the part of the defendant; and, in the strictest sense, one which sets up allegations of fact in defense to the action. The name "a pleading" ls also given to any one of the formal written statements of accusation or defense presented by the parties alternately in an action at law; the aggregate of such statements filed in any one cause are termed "the pleadings." The oral advocacy of a client's cause In court, by hls barrister or counsel, ls sometimes called "pleading;" but this ls a popular, rather than technical, use.

In chancery practice. Consists in making the formal written allegations or statements of the respective parties on the record to maintain the suit, or to defeat it, of which, when contested in matters of fact, they propose to offer proofs, and in matters of law to offer argumenis to the court. Story, Eq. PI. § 4, note.

— Donble pleading. This is not allowed either in the declaration or subsequent pleadings. Its meaning with respect to the former is that the declaration must not, in support of a single demand, allege several distinct matters, by any one of which that demand is sufficiently supported. With respect to the subsequent pleadings, the meaning is that none of them is to contain several distinct answers to that which preceded it; and the reason of the rule in each case is that such pleading tends to several issues in respect of a single claim. Wharton.

— Special pleading. When the allegations (or "pleadings," as they are called) of the contending parties in an action are not of the general or ordinary form, but are of a more complex or special character, they are denominated "special pleadings;" and, when a defendant pleads a plea of this description, (i. e., a special pleat) he is said to plead specially, in opposition to pleading the genera] issue. These terms have given rise to the popular denomination of that science which, though properly called "pleading," Is generally known by the name of "special pleading." Brown. The allegation of special or new matter in, opposition or explanation of the last previous averments on the other side, as distinguished from a direct denial of matter previously alleged by the opposite party. Gould, FL c. 1, § 18. In popular language, the adroit and plausible advocacy of a client's case in court. Stimson, Law Gloss.