Pleading an Actionable Document

An actionable document is a document relied upon by either the plaintiff or the defendant. A substantial number of complaints reaching courts show that the plaintiff‘s cause of action or the defendant‘s defense is based upon a written instrument or a document.
When an actionable document is the basis of a pleading, the Rules of Court specifically directs the pleader to set forth in the pleading the substance of the instrument or the document, (a) and to attach the original or the copy of the document to the pleading as an exhibit and to be part of the pleading; or (b) with like effect, to set forth in the pleading said copy of the instrument or document (Sec. 7, Rule 8).

This manner of pleading a document applies only to one which is the basis of action or a defense. Therefore, if the document does not have the character of an actionable document, as, for example, when it is merely evidentiary, the strict manner of pleading prescribed by Sec. 7, Rule 8 need not be complied with.