Hunt v. City of San Francisco

Citations

• 11 Cal. 250

Syllabus

<p>A default on a complaint containing special counts, defectively stated, and also the common counts in assumpsit, properly stated, will support a judgment; the default being a confession of the indebtedness for the causes and on the accounts alleged in the complaint.</p> <p>The several counts are distinct causes of action; and the fact that by reason of one of them having been imperfectly stated, no judgment could be rendered on that count, does not affect the right of plaintiff to take judgment on those which are rightly stated.</p> <p>The rule in cases of default is different, from that in cases of verdict; for in the latter it is uncertain upon what bases or on which of the counts the jury rests its finding, whilst in the former the law determines the fact and the amount of recovery.</p> <p>A default may as well be taken against a municipal corporation as against a private person. The rules of pleading are general; they were designed to embrace all persons, natural or artificial, capable of suing or being sued.</p>