In what circumstances can a plaintiff bring a claim for multiple causes of action?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from In re Ryan, A140197 (Cal. App. 2016):

"Whether a complaint in fact asserts one or more causes of action for pleading purposes depends on whether it alleges invasion of one or more primary rights. 'The primary rights theory is a theory of code pleading that has long been followed in California. It provides that a "cause of action" is comprised of a "primary right" of the plaintiff, a corresponding "primary duty" of the defendant, and a wrongful act by the defendant constituting a breach of that duty. [Citation.] The most salient characteristic of a primary right is that it is indivisible: the violation of a single primary right gives rise to but a single cause of action. [Citation.]' (Crowley v. Katleman (1994) 8 Cal.4th 666, 681 . . . [suit for malicious prosecution lies for bringing an action charging multiple grounds of liability when some but not all of those grounds were asserted with malice and without probable cause].) 'As far as its content is concerned, the primary right is simply

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