Handbook of the Law of Code Pleading. Second Edition

Clark, Charles E[dward], [1889-1963]. Young, Richard S. Ryan, Winifred R. Handbook of the Law of Code Pleading. Second Edition. St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1947. Second edition. xvi, 874 pp. Original red textured cloth with gilt lettered spine and front cover. Raised bands and embossed front cover. Lightly rubbed, faded and shaken. Previous owner's signature "D.G. Kelly" to front free endpaper, otherwise internally clean. $50. * A comprehensive legal textbook on the historical and procedural aspects of code pleading detailing the rules governing formal written allegations submitted by parties in a lawsuit. This second edition, published while Clark was the principal draftsman of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (adopted in 1938), provides a scholarly review of the system of pleading that was the dominant practice for state courts in the U.S. at the time. The book traces the evolution of legal pleadings, comparing the modern approach of the time to older methods. It covers the 19th-century reforms that transitioned the U.S. away from the highly technical common law system, which had been criticized for focusing on procedural traps over the merits of a case. It explains the code pleading system, which requires parties to state the essential facts of their claim rather than relying on the naming of a specific "cause of action". The text provides guidance on the drafting of complaints, answers, demurrers, and other documents, covering the legal principles that governed their use under the codes of civil procedure. It addresses the legal concepts surrounding the combination of multiple claims or parties into a single lawsuit. Charles E. Clark was a prominent legal scholar and federal judge, and a leading proponent of simplifying legal procedure. His Handbook was highly regarded in its time as an authoritative and scholarly guide to code pleading, even as Clark himself was advocating for the new federal "notice pleading" standards that would eventually replace it.…