Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading

AuthorHillel H. Levin
Pages5-6
5
Unit 1
Goals of the Section.
By the end of this section, you should: understand what a plaintiff must include in a
complaint; understand how the relevant standards have changed over time; be able
to articulate what interests are being balanced and vindicated by the Rules and the
judicial opinions that interpret and apply them; be able to critique the doctrine; be
able to apply the doctrine in run-of-the-mill cases as a lawyer would; have a better
understanding of the job of the lawyer through your experience drafting and
reviewing litigation documents.
A court case begins with the plaintiff filing a complaint and serving the defendant.
The material in this section focuses on the law that governs the contents of the
plaintiff’s complaint. (For the rules concerning service, see Rule 4.) This has been
one of the most dynamic and controversial areas in all of civil procedure in recent
years. Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a plaintiff’s
complaint must include the following:
Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading
(a) Claims for Relief.
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.

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