PLEADING
pleading, n. 1. A formal document in which a party to a legal proceeding (esp. a civil lawsuit) sets forth or responds to allegations, claims, denials, or defenses. • In federal civil procedure, the main pleadings are the plaintiff’s complaint and the defendant’s answer. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 621; Pleading 1. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 2–3, 6–7, 593.]
accusatory pleading. An indictment, information, or complaint by which the government begins a criminal prosecution.
amended pleading. A pleading that replaces an earlier pleading and that contains matters omitted from or not known at the time of the earlier pleading. Cf. supplemental pleading. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 821–852.1; Pleading 229–271. C.J.S. Architects § 42; Pleading §§ 323–455.]
“An amendment is the correction of an error or the supplying of an omission in the process or pleadings. An amended pleading differs from a supplemental pleading in that the true function of the latter is to spread upon the record matter material to the issue which has arisen subsequent to the filing of a pleading, while matter of amendment purely is matter that might well have been pleaded at the time the pleading sought to be amended was filed, but which through error or inadvertence was omitted or misstated. It has been declared that the allowance of amendments is incidental to the exercise of all judicial power and is indispensable to the ends of justice.” Eugene A. Jones, Manual of Equity Pleading and Practice 68 (1916).
anomalous pleading. A pleading that is partly affirmative and partly negative in its allegations.
argumentative pleading. A pleading that states allegations rather than facts, and thus forces the court to infer or hunt for supporting facts. • Conclusory statements in court papers are a form of argumentative pleading. — Also termed inferential pleading.
articulated pleading. A pleading that states each allegation in a separately numbered paragraph. [Cases: Pleading 52. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 148–151.]
defective pleading. A pleading that fails to meet minimum standards of sufficiency or accuracy in form or substance.
hypothetical pleading. A pleading asserting that if a certain fact is true, then a certain result must follow. • Hypothetical pleadings are generally improper.
inferential pleading. See argumentative pleading.
pleading to the merits. A responsive pleading that addresses the plaintiff’s cause of action, in whole or in part.
responsive pleading. A pleading that replies to an opponent’s earlier pleading. See ANSWER. [Cases: Pleading 76. C.J.S. Pleading § 159.]
sham pleading. An obviously frivolous or absurd pleading that is made only for purposes of vexation or delay. — Also termed sham plea; false plea; (archaically) deceitful plea. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 1139; Pleading 359, 362(3). C.J.S. Pleading §§ 652–655, 680.]
shotgun pleading. A pleading that encompasses a wide range of contentions, usu. supported by vague factual allegations.
supplemental pleading. A pleading that either corrects a defect in an earlier pleading or addresses facts arising since the earlier pleading was filed. • Unlike an amended pleading, a supplemental pleading merely adds to the earlier pleading and does not replace it. Cf. amended pleading. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 861–871; Pleading 273. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 456–460.] 2. A system of defining and narrowing the issues in a lawsuit whereby the parties file formal documents alleging their respective positions.
alternative pleading. A form of pleading whereby the pleader alleges two or more independent claims or defenses that are not necessarily consistent with each other, such as alleging both intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress based on the same conduct. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(e)(2). — Also termed pleading in the alternative. Cf. DUPLICITY(2); double plea under PLEA(3). [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 675; Pleading 50, 52. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 147–151.]
artful pleading. A plaintiff’s disguised phrasing of a federal claim as solely a state-law claim in order to prevent a defendant from removing the case from state court to federal court. [Cases: Removal of Cases 25(1). C.J.S. Removal of Causes §§ 30, 34–37, 44, 65.]
code pleading. A procedural system requiring that the pleader allege merely the facts of the case giving rise to the claim, not the legal conclusions necessary to sustain the claim. — Also termed fact pleading. Cf. issue pleading. [Cases: Pleading 8, 48. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 16, 116–124, 132–133.]
common-law pleading. The system of pleading historically used in the three common-law courts of England (the King’s Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Exchequer) up to 1873.
equity pleading. The system of pleading used in courts of equity. • In most jurisdictions, rules unique to equity practice have been largely supplanted by rules of court, esp. where law courts and equity courts have merged. [Cases: Equity 128–335.] fact pleading.See code pleading.
issue pleading. The common-law method of pleading, the main purpose of which was to frame an issue. Cf. code pleading. [Cases: Pleading 1, 16, 48. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 2–3, 6–7, 9, 116–124, 132–133, 162, 164, 593.] notice pleading. A procedural system requiring that the pleader give only a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and not a complete detailing of all the facts. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 673; Pleading 16, 48. C.J.S. Pleading §§ 9, 116–124, 132–133, 162, 164.] pleading in the alternative.See alternative pleading. special pleading. See SPECIAL PLEADING.
3. The legal rules regulating the statement of the plaintiff’s claims and the defendant’s defenses <today, pleading is a much simpler subject than it was in former years>.
[Blacks Law 8th]