Page 6 - SAMPLE LINKEDLAW DESKBOOK

TABLE OF CONTENTS

D. Final Pre-Filing Strategies in Addition to the Drafting the Complaint ........................................... 3-32
1. Strategies to Consider ........................................................................................................ 3-32
H. SAMPLE
2. Other Discovery .................................................................................................................. 3-32
3. Cover Sheet and Pretrial Rule 26 Disclosures and Discovery Plan .................................. 3-32
APPENDIX A – FLOW CHART ANALYZING A LEGAL CLAIM’S LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS .......................... 3-35

Chapter Four
The Complaint
§ 4.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 4-1
§ 4.2 FORM OF PLEADINGS GENERALLY ..................................................................................................... 4-1
A. How a Complaint Compares to Other Pleadings ........................................................................... 4-1
B. General Rules of Complaint Preparation ........................................................................................ 4-1
1. Short, Plain, and Direct Statements ..................................................................................... 4-1
2. Allegations of Fact and Law ................................................................................................. 4-6
3. Organization Into Counts Is Optional ................................................................................... 4-6
4. Allegations May Be in the Alternative or Inconsistent .......................................................... 4-6
5. Special Significance of Using a Form Pleading From the Appendix of Forms .................... 4-7
C. Pleading Special Types of Matters ................................................................................................. 4-7
1. Capacity ................................................................................................................................ 4-7
2. Condition of Mind, Fraud, or Mistake ................................................................................... 4-8
3. Conditions Precedent ........................................................................................................... 4-9
4. Special Damages ................................................................................................................. 4-9
5. Unknown Parties .................................................................................................................. 4-9
6. Pleading a “Jane Doe” Pseudonym for Privacy Reasons.................................................. 4-10
7. Other Matters for Which General Allegations Are Sufficient .............................................. 4-10
D. Rules on Captioning, Denomination of Parties, Paragraphing, and Reference to Exhibits ......... 4-10
1. Role of Exhibits Attached to the Complaint .........................................................................4-11
2. Anticipating Affirmative Defenses in the Complaint ........................................................... 4-12
E. Special Pleading Considerations .................................................................................................. 4-12
1. Demand for Trial by Jury .................................................................................................... 4-12
2. Limits on Pleading for Money Damages ............................................................................ 4-13
3. Types of Relief That Cannot Be Pled Initially, but Must Be Deferred to
Later Amendment ............................................................................................................... 4-13
F. General Rules of Complaint Interpretation ................................................................................... 4-14
1. Liberal Construction of What Has Been Pled .................................................................... 4-14
2. Specificity of Pleading the Event Is to Trigger Res Judicata Principles ............................. 4-14
G. Requirement of “Good Faith” in Pleading ..................................................................................... 4-15
Strategic Considerations for When to Plead Simply and When to Plead in Detail ...................... 4-16
§ 4.3 ROLE OF SUMMONS AND ROLE OF COMPLAINT............................................................................. 4-17
A. In Commencement of the Action .................................................................................................. 4-17
B. Role of Service of Complaint on Defendant’s Right of Removal of the
Case to Federal Court .................................................................................................................. 4-18