Steele v. Locke Cotton Mills Co.

It is a basic rule of pleading that a complaint must allege every material fact necessary to sustain the right of the plaintiff to the relief which he seeks. Potter v. Supply Co., 230 N.C. 1, 51 S.E. 2d 908. In consequence, we confront this primary question at the threshold of this appeal: Where a stockholder applies for a writ of mandamus to compel the directors of a corporation .to declare and pay a dividend, must he allege in his complaint that the corporation has surplus or net profits available for the payment of such dividend at the time when the action is brought and the application…