Notice, Averment Of

NOTICE, AVERMENT OF - This is frequently necessary, particularly in special actions of assumpsit.

When the matter alleged in the pleading is to be considered as lying more properly in the knowledge of the plaintiff than of the defendant, then the declaration ought to state that the defendant had notice thereof; as when the defendant promised to give the plaintiff as much for a commodity as another person had given, or should give for the like.

But where the matter does not lie more properly in the knowledge of the plaintiff than of the defendant, notice need not be averred. Therefore, if the defendant contrasted to do a thing, on the performance of an act by a stranger, notice need not be averred, for it lies in the defendant's knowledge as much as the plaintiff's, and he ought to take notice of it at his peril. The omission of an averment of notice, when necessary, will be fatal on demurrer or judgment by default unless in an action against the drawer of a bill, when the omission of the averment of notice of non-payment by the acceptor is fatal, even after verdict.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.