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In Common-Law Pleading or Code Pleading, the initial statements made by a plaintiff that set forth a Cause of Action to commence a civil lawsuit; the different points of a plaintiff's declaration, each of which constitute a basis for relief. In Criminal Procedure, one of several parts or charges of an indictment, each accusing the defendant of a different offense.




n. each separate statement in a complaint which states a cause of action which, standing alone, would give rise to a lawsuit), or each separate charge in a criminal action. For example, the complaint in a civil (non-criminal) lawsuit might state: First Count (or cause of action) for negligence, and then state the detailed allegations; Second Count for breach of contract, Third Count for debt, and so forth. In a criminal case each count would be a statement of a different alleged crime. There are also so-called common counts which cover various types of debt. (See: common counts)


noun accusation, allegation, assertion, case for the prosecution, charge, citation, claim, comes, condemnation, countercharge, crimination, delation, denunciation, distinct statement, imputation, inculpation, indictment, item, item in the indictment, main charge, particular charge, statement of a cause of action
Associated concepts: count in an accusatory instrument, ommibus count
See also: accusation, amount, appraise, assess, calculate, canvass, census, charge, complaint, computation, enumerate, item, itemize, poll, quantity, sum, surmise, survey


a paragraph in an indictment containing a distinct and separate charge.

    2. But when the suit embraces two or more causes of action, (each of which of course requires a different statement;) or when the plaintiff makes two or more different statements of one and the same cause of action, each several statement is called a count, and all of them, collectively, constitute the declaration.
    3. In all cases, however, in which there are two or more counts, whether there is actually but one cause of action or several, each count purports, upon the face of it, to disclose a distinct right of action, unconnected with that stated in any of the other counts.
    4. One object proposed, in inserting two or more counts in one declaration, when there is in fact but one cause of action, is, in some cases, to guard against the danger of an insufficient statement of the cause, where a doubt exists as to the legal sufficiency of one or another of two different modes of declaring; but the more usual end proposed in inserting more than one count in such case, is to accommodate the statement to the cause, as far as may be, to the possible state of the proof to be exhibited on trial; or to guard, if possible, against the hazard of the proofs varying materially from the statement of the cause of action; so that if one or more or several counts be not adapted to the evidence, some other of them may be so. Gould on Pl. c. 4, s. 2, 3, 4; Steph. Pl. 279; Doct. Pl. 1 78; 8 Com. Dig. 291; Dane's Ab. Index, h.t.; Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t. In real actions, the declaration is most usually called a count. Steph. Pl. 36, See Common count; Money count.

References in periodicals archive ?
The daughter of prolific romantic novelist Dame Barbara Cartland, Countess Spencer grew up in the rarefied world of upper-class England.
The Countess had four children with her first husband Gerald Legge, 9th Earl of Dartmouth, whom she married in 1947.
The Countess of Wessex hugs her son James after her ride
The majority of available cell counters are limited to green and red fluorescent protein (GFP/RFP) channels, but the Countess II FL instrument is a three-channel (brightfield and two optional fluorescence channels) system that utilises optics and image analysis to run assays for cells in suspension, such as cell counting, fluorescent protein expression, apoptosis, cell viability and cell cycle assays.
Replaced by MV Discovery in Cruise & Maritime's schedules late last year, Ocean Countess was laid up at Chalkis, Greece.
The Countess is eager to build upon the strong partnerships and alliances forged last year when Orbis made its inaugural visit to Qatar.
Headteacher Tony Blake said: "It was a real pleasure to welcome the Countess and the royal party to our school.
The Countess Group (TCG) is a marketing and communications consultancy providing strategic vision and measurable results for clients since 2001.
She said: "It was with this celebration in mind that The Countess of Wessex made this visit to The Royal Mint, representing the Queen and striking a celebratory coin in her honour.
Countess Mara ties never come in conventional stripes or polka dots, but it is possible to buy examples in solid colors, though this requires a slight extra effort.
The Ocean Countess left Liverpool for Scotland but got into difficulty off the Isle of Man at 12.