State and federal rules of civil procedure typically provided limited guidance in drafting complaints and other pleadings. More is required to minimize the risk that a defendant will file a motion to dismiss the complaint.
The Basics
According to Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure a pleading that states a claim for relief must contain (1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the claim needs no new jurisdictional support; (2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.
Many states have adopted and modified the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See, e.g. Rule 1.110 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
In contrast, New York’s rules of civil practice have evolved independently of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) Section 3013 stated the primary pleading standard for claims in New York courts and requires pleadings to contain statements sufficiently particular to give the court and parties notice of the transactions, occurrences, or series of transactions or occurrences, intended to be proved, and the material elements of each cause of action. Pleadings must consist of plain and concise statements containing single allegations. See CPLR 3014.
Formatting
The rules applicable to your pleading may specify the size of the paper, margins, spacing and permitted font size. It may also dictate whether footnotes are permitted and impose page limits on some times of filings. Local and chambers often dictate such details and are common to motion and appellate practice.
Captions
Every filing should clearly reflect the court in which the matter is pending, the parties and their roles, and the case number in the caption.
Naming the Parties
Be sure to name the proper parties in your complaint. If someone is being sued in a representative capacity, such as the trustee of a trust, the caption and complaint should make that clear and identify the represented party. See., e.g., Rule 1.120(a) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure.
Jurisdiction
The complaint should allege that the Court has jurisdiction, i.e. the official authority to render decisions over the subject of the dispute (subject matter jurisdiction) and the people or entities involved (personal jurisdiction.
The complaint should include allegations explaining: (1) why the Court can decide the matter, e.g., the accident took place in the county or district over which the Court has authority, or the contract was formed in there; and (2) why the named defendant should be dragged into Court there. Generally, a defendant must reside in, regularly do business in, or have sufficient ties to the jurisdiction for the Court to exercise personal jurisdiction over them.
Pleading the Elements of Your Claims
A plaintiff should research the elements (or points a plaintiff must prove) of the claims or causes of action it intends to assert in the complaint and allege that each of the elements exists and facts pertaining to each element. One cannot merely parrot the elements in conclusory form. Pattern civil jury instructions are a great resource for the elements of and explanations concerning legal claims. Alternatively, case law is available from a number of free searches, such as Google Scholar. One can search federal and state precedents identifying the elements of a prospective claim. While ChatGPT and similarly tools may be a good starting point, the reader should check the sources reported to confirm that they exist and stand for the proposition cited by the AI tool.
Heightened Pleadings
Some types of claims must be a heightened pleading standard, such as with a claim for fraud or mistake.
For example, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b) states that “[i]n alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake.” But “[m]alice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of a person’s mind may be alleged generally.”
Rule 1.120(b) of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure provides:
In all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with such particularity as the circumstances may permit. Malice, intent, knowledge, mental attitude, and other condition of mind of a person may be averred generally.
Similarly, CPLR R 3016(b) provides that “[w]here a cause of action or defense is based upon misrepresentation, fraud, mistake, willful default, breach of trust, or undue influence, the circumstances constituting the wrong shall be stated in detail.”
Certificates of Merit
In some jurisdictions, certain types of complaint must be accompanied by a certificate of merit by the filing attorney that he or she has reviewed the facts of the case, discussed the same with a qualified professional, and that there is a good faith basis to bring the claim. In New York, such certificates are required in medical, dental and podiatric actions (CPLR 3012-A) and certain residential foreclosure actions (CPLR 3012-B).
Make Single Allegations
Unlike New York, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and many state rules modelled after it do not require that the short and plain statement contain single allegations. However, I think New York’s requirement of one allegation per statement to be the better pleading practice.
An answering defendant usually has three options for responding to any particular paragraph of a complaint: (1) admit the allegation; (2) deny the allegation; or (3) deny knowledge or information sufficient to admit or deny the allegation (DKI). When presented with a single fact or legal assertion, it is more difficult for a defendant to avoid admitting or denying the allegation. When facts or legal assertions are combined in a single paragraph, a defendant may liberally choose whichever of the three options are in part applicable but most favorable to it. Observing the one allegation per paragraph rule makes doing so more difficult for the defendant.