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22
Oak Lawn 31st May Weds 1837.
Pleadings
Before a man attempts the practice of the law
and counsel he should study pleading profo-
undly. In the first instance what is a subject
for a law case, next who may be plaintiff
and who defendant, for this is sometimes diffi-
cult to determine and and involves much law knowl-
edge. This understood, the nature of actions and
their different sorts, must be understood.
Actions are real, personal, or mixed. A real action
is to obtain real property, such as lands, tenements
and hereditaments and what is appertaining there
to, a personal action is to obstain personal proper-
ty, such as money, goods, etc. and what is appeartaining the-
reto, or damages for an injury to the person, per-
sonal, or real property; a mixed action partakes
of both these and known as the action of ejectm-
ment which is to regain possession of land wrongfully
possessed by a [disscisor] together with damages known
as the the mesne profits, during the time the rightful ow-
ner is kept out of possession.
Actions are in their nature only two; ex contractu
and ex delicto. The former is the action to compel
men to be punctual in the performance of their
contracts one to another; the latter is for some
wrong and is said to sound in damages either to
the person injured to the the state whose peace
and dignity have been violated.
Actions ex contractu are assumpsit, debt convenant
and detinue; those of ex delicto are case, trouver
poss replevin and tresspass Vi and armis.
Assumpsit is an action to recover money or [implied] or
oral express promises, such as a merchant's [accounts],
debt is to recover money due by bond or promisory note either
under seal or note under seal commonly called bond
and single bill, covenant is to recover the penalty
for breach of a written agreement; detinue is to recover
back property itself, in specie. Those of ex delicto. Case
is an action a peculiar action of tresspass to recover damages
for some wrong or tort, the distinctions [--] which and the actions
of tresspass is very nice. trover is to recover the value of any property
and not the property itself.