The Pennsylvania Practice Act of 1915 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1920 Excerpt: ... Introduction The Practice Act of 1915 is the latest step in procedural reform in Pennsylvania which began in 1795 in an agreement signed by all but two of the attorneys of the Supreme Court, providing in substance that in all actions defendant's attorney should confess judgment to the plaintiff at the third court unless the defendant or some person for him should make an affidavit at or before the second term that "to the best of his knowledge and belief there is a just defense in whole or in part in the same cause." If the defense were to part only, then judgment should be confessed for as much as should be acknowledged to be due to the plaintiff, provided the plaintiff's attorney would accept such confession of judgment in full satisfaction of his demand.' In 1799 this practice was made compulsory by rules of the Supreme Court and in 1809 the common pleas of Philadelphia and in 1812 the district court adopted similar rules.2 The Affidavit of Defense Act of 1835' required that the affidavit of defense must set forth the nature and character of the defense, giving the facts upon which the defense is based and leaving it to the court to determine whether or not in law they constituted a legal and proper defense. In addition to this affidavit of defense system, another change in pleading was made at an early date which ultimately resulted in the abolition of the common law declaration and the substitution of the modern statement of claim. By the Act of i8o6,4 the object of which was to dispense with form so that every man might be his own lawyer, it was provided that in all cases for the recovery of any debt founded on a verbal promise, book account, note, bond, penal or single bill or all or any of them, the plaintiff should file a statement of his demand, p...