Bullen and Leake's Precedents of Pleadings

A necessary consequence of the extensive changes in the law of Pleading is, that the valuable and elaborate works previously existing have been rendered comparatively useless, except to those persons who possess an intimate acquaintance as well with the former practice as with the recent changes. The object of the Authors of this Work has been to supply a collection of precedents, with instructions for their use, adapted to the law and practice of Pleading in its present state.

In settling the Precedents they have attempted to follow as closely as possible the examples given in the Schedule to the Common Law Procedure Act of 1852. They have endeavoured to render the collection sufficiently complete to meet the cases of most frequent occurrence in practice.

Numerous references have also been given to precedents in reported cases, from which it is hoped the practitioner may derive assistance in drawing pleadings in cases of less common occurrence. Care should, however, be taken in using the forms found in the Reports to settle them as nearly as possible in accordance with the forms contained in the Schedule to the Common Law Procedure Act. It is also hoped that these references to reported forms will be found useful as a guide to the most recent or to the leading cases on the particular points of law to which they relate; and it will be seen that some of the references have been introduced more especially with this view.

The Precedents have been arranged in conformity with the plan adopted by the Common Law Procedure Act of 1852, where the division of causes of actions into the two, so to speak, natural divisions of actions on contracts and actions for wrongs independent of contract (irrespective of the technical distinction between forms of action) received an authoritative recognition. This division has been found very convenient in the compilation of the Work; and it is hoped that it will be found equally convenient in its use.

The Notes contain references to the statutes, rules of court, and principal decisions relating to the pleadings to which they are appended, with such practical observations on the object and effect of the pleadings as appeared necessary for their more convenient use.

The Authors have endeavoured, by a careful selection of the matter, to keep the Work within moderate limits, in order to present it to the profession in a form which, it is hoped, will prove most generally useful.

MIDDLE TEMPLE,

May, 1860.