Wall v. Spurlock
Wall v. Spurlock
Opinion of the Court
All that is required of a plaintiff is to plainly, fully and distinctly allege the facts, on which he bases his right to recover against the defendants, setting the same forth in an orderly manner with the paragraphs numbered consecutively. He is not required in the interest of good pleading to go into detail and to minutely specify and set out in his petition the evidence on which he relies to make out his case. A petition which is in compliance with this broad rule, if it alleges facts which authorize a recovery by the plaintiff against the defendants, is sufficient to withstand a general demurrer. See Georgia-Alahama Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. White, 55 Ga. App. 706 (191 S. E. 265); Justice v. Davis, 62 Ga. App. 872 (10 S. E. 2d, 267). The statement of the plaintiff’s alleged cause of action was sufficiently full and distinct to enable the court'to determine whether a cause of action existed and to enable the defendants to understand the exact nature of the demand made against them by the plaintiff and to properly prepare any defense thereto which they might’ have.
The plaintiff seeks to recover of the defendants damages for maliciously prosecuting against him a criminal action. This is an action for malicious prosecution. “A criminal prosecution, maliciously carried on, and without any probable cause, whereby damage ensues to the person prosecuted, shall give him a cause of action.” Code, § 105-801. Where a warrant is issued by the Civil Court of Fulton County, upon affidavit by one of the defendants, as the secretary and treasurer of the corporate defendant, on which the plaintiff is arrested, imprisoned and a commitment hearing or trial is had thereon, same is a prosecution of the person charged in the affidavit with the alleged offense, and the warrant, charging such person with the criminal offense
Where it appears from the allegations of the petition that the plaintiff was arrested and imprisoned by virtue' of a warrant charging him with larceny after trust, same being sworn out by one of the defendants, acting individually and as the secretary and treasurer of the corporate defendant, and on the commitment hearing in the Civil Court of Fulton County, the plaintiff was discharged by the committing court, and it is also set up that the plaintiff’s prosecution by the defendants was without probable- cause and was maliciously carried on, the petition set up a cause of action for malicious prosecution, sufficient to
The 28 special grounds of demurrer, directed to 28 of the 34 paragraphs of the plaintiff’s petition are without merit (except as to the ground of special demurrer, to wit, ground No. 22, attacking paragraph 25 of the plaintiff’s petition, wherein the plaintiff alleges that the defendants’ counsel stated to a named person on March 26, 1951, after this warrant was issued and the plaintiff arrested thereunder, that the only reason the warrant was issued and the plaintiff arrested was for the purpose of collecting a sum of money that the plaintiff owed to the defendants) . It does not appear that this statement was made in the presence or hearing of the individual defendant, or of any officer or agent of the corporation. Such allegation is, therefore, irrelevant and not proper to show malice on the part of the defendants, the clients of the attorney. See Farrar v. Brackett, 86 Ga. 463 (6) (12 S. E. 686). This ground of special demurrer should have been sustained and paragraph 25 of the petition stricken.
It follows that the petition was good against the general demurrer and that none of the grounds of special demurrer, except ground 22 are well taken. The court erred in not sustaining ground 22 of the special demurrer directed to paragraph 25 of the petition.
Judgment affirmed with direction that paragraph 25 of the petition he stricken.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.