The court or judge thereof may order a further account when the one delivered is too general, or is defective in any particular. “It is not necessary for a party to set forth in a pleading the items of an account therein alleged, but he must deliver to the adverse party, within ten days after a demand thereof in writing, a copy of the account, or be precluded from giving evidence thereof. Law authorizing a demand for a bill of particulars in California.Ĭode of Civil Procedure § 454 states that, And if the original complaint or cross-complaint was verified the bill of particulars must also be verified. The demand for a bill of particulars must be in writing, and the bill of particulars must be delivered to the requesting party within 10 (ten) days if personally served, fifteen (15) days if served by mail. This procedure, known as a bill of particulars forces the plaintiff to itemize the total sum upon which the complaint is based. For this reason, courts allowed a demand for bill of particulars to enable defendant to discover what was being claimed and to prepare for trial. The demand for a bill of particulars procedure dates back to the days of early common law when plaintiffs who sued on a common count gave no specifics in their pleading as to the nature of the claim such as whether it was contract, quasi-contract, etc. California law also states that if the defendant serves a written demand on the plaintiff they are required to furnish a copy of the account on which the complaint is based or be precluded from giving evidence thereof. The law in California states that it is not necessary for a plaintiff who sues on an account to include the items of any account in their complaint. A demand for a bill of particulars in California is the topic of this blog post.