Civil Procedure: Pleadings and Motions

• Pleadings are the formal documents filed in court to start and continue a case.

The Order of Pleadings

• A complaint is the initial pleading filed by the plaintiff.
• An answer or motion to dismiss must be filed by the defendant in response to the complaint.
• A reply is the least common pleading, as it is rarely ordered by the court.

Pleadings vs. Motions

• Both pleadings and motions request court action.
• Pleadings commence a case and require a mandatory answer, while motions aren't always required to be written.
• Pleadings outline what a party wants at the end of the case.
• Motions request immediate relief or action and usually adhere to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) or court-specific rules.

History of Pleadings

Common Law Pleading

• Relied on the writ system, where a case had to fit within predefined writs.
• Its aim was to narrow cases down to a single issue for trial.
• Wrongfully pleading a writ resulted in case dismissal.
• Separate Courts of Law and Equity existed, with some remedies only available in Equity Courts, and accessing Equity required proving no adequate remedy in a Court of Law.

Code Pleading

• This emphasizes factual allegations.
• Complexities arose from difficulties in defining causes of action.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Pleading

• Reduced pleadings to three primary forms: Complaint, Answer, and Reply.
• A shift occurred from technical pleadings to discovery and substantive justice.

General Rules for All Pleadings

Required Omissions

• Under Privacy Protections (Rule 5.2), sensitive information must be redacted.
• For Social Security numbers, only the last four digits should be used.
• For birthdates, only the year should be used.
• For minors' names, use only initials.
• Documents may be filed under seal when necessary.

Required Disclosures

Constitutional Challenge to a Statute (Rule 5.1)

• Applies when challenging a statute's constitutionality, and the Attorney General or Government is not a party.
• When challenging a statute's constitutionality, the challenging party must notify both the opposing party and the Attorney General.
• Notice must be served on the Attorney General of the U.S. (for federal statutes) or the relevant state attorney general (for state statutes) via certified mail or designated electronic address.
• The court must notify the appropriate Attorney General of the constitutional issue per 28 U.S.C. § 2403.
• The Attorney General may intervene within 60 days.
• The court may not declare a statute unconstitutional before receiving a response, and failure to serve notice or certify does not forfeit a constitutional claim.
• Statutory Authority (28 U.S.C. § 2403) mirrors Rule 5.1, allowing the Attorney General to intervene, and provides the U.S. or state government full party rights in cases questioning constitutionality. Requires the court ensure constitutional questions have been presented to the appropriate attorney general.

Intervenor vs. Amicus Curiae

• Intervenors become full parties to the case, can present evidence and arguments, and typically intervene at lower court levels.
• Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) do not become parties but file briefs to present legal perspectives, are more common at the appellate level, and are often involved due to expertise or indirect interest in case outcomes.

Corporate Disclosure Statement (Rule 7.1)

• A non-governmental corporate party must file a disclosure statement identifying any parent corporation and publicly held corporations owning 10% or more of stock, or state if no such corporations exist.
• In diversity cases, the statement must identify all parties affecting jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a).
• Allows judges to assess conflicts of interest and recusal obligations, refer to 28 U.S.C. § 455 regarding judicial disqualification.

Judicial Disqualification (28 U.S.C. § 455)

• A judge must disqualify themselves when they have personal bias or prior involvement in the case, have a financial or familial interest in the outcome, or they or close relatives are parties, attorneys, or have a substantial stake.
• A judge can avoid disqualification by divesting financial interest unless substantial judicial time has been invested.
• This ensures impartiality in judicial proceedings.

The Parts of Every Pleading

• The Caption (Rule 10) includes the court name, names of all parties (plaintiff(s) and defendant(s)), type of complaint, and docket/case number
• The Signature (Rule 11(a)) requires the date, attorney signature, printed name, address, email, and telephone number.
• Penalties for Violation include the ability to correct noncompliant documents.
• Verification means signing under oath, typically done by a party with personal knowledge.
• It is important to note that Rule 11 does not mandate verification unless explicitly required.

The Demand for Relief

• A court generally awards appropriate relief regardless of what was asked for.
• Exceptions include determining subject matter jurisdiction, impacting the right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment, and limiting the scope of default judgments (a court cannot award more than what was originally demanded).
• Under FRCP 8(a)(3), a pleading must contain a demand for relief, which may include alternative or different types of relief.
• FRCP 54(c) states that a default judgment cannot exceed or differ from what was demanded, but other final judgments should grant whatever relief is appropriate.

Substantive vs. Procedural Law

• Substantive law defines legal rights and responsibilities, which can be created by legislatures (e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for civil rights violations) or come from common law (e.g., torts, contracts, and property law).
• Civil Procedure provides the process for resolving claims, ensuring disputes follow a structured mechanism and is trans-substantive, meaning the same procedural rules apply regardless of the type of claim.
• Remedies include money, declaratory relief, and injunctive relief.
• FRCP 2: One Form of Action abolishes the historical distinction between actions in law and equity, addresses remnants of the old English legal system, which had separate courts for legal and equitable claims, and ensures that all civil disputes follow the same procedural framework under a single "civil action" rather than requiring plaintiffs to choose between legal or equitable proceedings.
• A case moves through various stages once it enters the "litigation stream", including pleadings, motions, discovery, and pretrial conferences (then trial).

Litigation Expenses and Attorney's Fees

• Litigation is publicly funded (courts, judges), but each party pays their own costs and attorney's fees.
• Costs include filing fees, service fees, witness fees, and discovery expenses.
• Attorney's fees can be hourly or contingency-based (plaintiff's lawyer takes a percentage of winnings).
• Client will always get damages if they win, attorney's fees depend on the American Rule (fee shifting).
• Relevant statutes like 28 U.S.C. § 1332(b) about the amount-in-controversy requirements and cost implications in diversity cases, and 28 U.S.C. § 1920 stating the specifics for taxable costs recoverable by the prevailing party.
• Each party pays its own attorney's fees under the "American Rule," unless a contract allows for fee-shifting, a statute permits recovery of fees (e.g., civil rights laws, examples: Civil Rights Act, Clean Air Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Patent and Copyright laws), or a court finds misconduct and awards fees (e.g., bad faith litigation).
• Rule 54(d)(1) allows winners to recover limited "taxable costs" but not attorney's fees in federal courts.
• Rule 54(d)(1) does not impose a time limit for moving to tax costs, though local rules may set deadlines.
• The prevailing party must submit a verified bill of costs, which is initially reviewed by the court clerk.
• De novo review is allowed by the district judge if the losing party objects.

Historical Background: Courts of England

• Courts of Law handled cases where damages (money) could remedy the harm and relied on juries and strict evidence rules.
• Courts of Equity provided remedies like injunctions, had no juries, and relied on judge discretion.
• Modern impact: The distinction between law and equity still affects jury trial rights and available remedies.

Monetary Relief

• Damages aren't always fully compensated, as damages are limited to provable losses. Usually attorney's fees are not recoverable unless a statute or contract allows for fee-shifting. However, more and more statutes are allowing for such shifts and costs (court fees, filing fees) are recoverable unless exceptions apply (e.g., under Rule 68 Offer of Judgment).

Relevant Rules

• A defendant may offer a judgment at any point in the case under FRCP 68, where if the plaintiff rejects and later wins a less favorable judgment, the plaintiff must cover post-offer costs.

Declaratory Judgments

• A declaratory judgment is when a court determines the rights of parties without ordering damages or injunctions.
• 28 U.S.C. § 2201 allows declaratory judgments in actual controversies, and a court can declare the rights and other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration, and must have an independent basis for subject matter jurisdiction.
• FRCP 57: Existence of another adequate remedy does not preclude a declaratory judgment that is otherwise appropriate
• Plaintiffs want money, which makes declaratory judgement redundant.
• Actual controversy is always required, which ensures that the judgements don't become speculative or hypothetical.
• They help parties complaining about something that has not happened yet like a theater screening obscene material, or neighbor's trees
• They do not require showing irreparable injury like injunctions.

Damages (Money) Sufficiency

• The thing at risk is unique. UCC 2-716(1) (Buyer's Right to Specific Performance or Replevin: "Specific performance may be decreed where the goods are unique or in other proper circumstances.")
• The loss will be very hard to measure.
• The defendant has no money.
• First Amendment violations are likely. Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976) “The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury."

Injunctive Relief

• An order to do something or to refrain from doing something
• It is equitable relief (that is, discretionary, not a matter of right).
• This is because "An injunction is a matter of equitable discretion; it does not follow from success on the merits as a matter of course." Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council
• Only granted if: Irreparable Injury is likely without an injunction and a sufficient legal remedy (money damages can't fix the harm) Relevant Rules:
  • FRCP 65: Governs issuance of injunctions and TRO.

What are the different types of injunctions?

• TRO – Emergency relief granted before the defendant is heard.
• Pre-Injunction – Temporary relief granted before trial but after the defendant has had an opportunity to be heard, but discovery and a full trial have not yet occurred.
• Permeant Injunction – Issued after trial, typically as a final remedy, and is the easiest to obtain since all due process protections have been met.

What factors determine whether a court grants a prelim injunction?

• Likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable form if the injunction is not granted, balance of hardships, and public interest considerations.

Does the plaintiff need to request an injection in pleading or motion?

• Permanent Injunction does not require a request in pleadings or motions.
• Temporary Injunction (TRO) or Preliminary does require a request in pleadings or motions.

How do we minimize risk to the defendant if an injunction is erroneously granted?

• Plaintiff must put allegations under oath (verified pleadings or affidavits).
• Plaintiff must post a bond or other security to cover damages if the injunction was wrongly issued.
• Immediate appeal is allowed, and trial may be expedited, and The defendant may move to vacate the TRO on just a 2 days notice

How do we minimize unfairness to a plaintiff if an injunction is wrongly denied?

• An immediate interlocutory appeal is allowed and the trial date may be expedited.
• Plaintiff may recover damages for ongoing violations that occurred between the preliminary injunction denial and trial.

What happens is a defendant violates an innjunction?

• The plaintiff can file a motion for contempt to enforce compliance and the judge may impose civil or criminal penalties.

Mystery of an Injunction

• TRO may seem pointless if Defendant cannot be not located and served.
• However, if damage is irreparable, the goal is to prevent D from further harm before they can act, but only bind those with notice.

Effectiveness of a TRO for Irreparable Harm

• TRO provides better results than declaratory judgement, because violations can be punished as contempt of court, and faster relief is possible.
• In civil prosecution, the plantiff can file a motion if the injunction is violated, which can result in civil or criminal penalties from the court of defience.

Rule 11(a)

• Addresses Signatures and Verifications; penalties include sanctions, ensure accountability for pleadings, and verified pleadings are sworn as affadavits.

Pleadings vs Motions

• Both actions request court actions, but Pleadings request what is wanted by end of case, while motions request actions immediately.

Evolving Pleadings

Common Law Pleading

• Has changed over time from formality to flexibility.

The Complaint

• States grounds for jurisdiction, includes statement of claim, and demand for relief.

Statment of Claims

• Requires short and plain statement, federal courts require short statements, and state codes require detailed information.
• If there is legal or factual insufficency the claim will be rejected.

Dismissal for Failure to State a Claim

• If there is knowlede of fraud, the state/federal law will review the dismissal of the claim.

The Courts Review

• Considers outside records in the form adidavits, oral testominies, and deposistions.
• Considers only records of pleadings, conversion the summons if nesscary.

Standard Review

• Allows plantiff to correct deficencies, and cases can be refiled if deficienies were not amendified.
• Rule 54(c) can award demands exceeding initial deminds except in default judgements.

Rule 12(6)(6) Standards

• Motions must be granted or denied
• Judgement is fact based, if allegations are not true.

Rules for Allegations

• Legal claims cannot be dismissed, and must contain a essential element along with too much or too little information.
• Courts assess plaibility and more the "labels" and naked assertions.

Assessing Plausability

• Judge reviews for possibilities and credinbility.

Rules and Motions

• Rule (8(a)0 states short and plain statements are required, and challenge all actions.

Plaintiffs Burden

Before

• Must alligidately and factually supply sufficient claims.
• During claims must supply entitlement to pre and post discovory information.
• However, judges cannot consider material outside of pleadings unless otherwise is provided.

Limits for Jurisdiction

• Certain Rules impose heighted pleading requirements for Rule 8(a)(2).
• Courts stuggle with detail requried by Rule(9)(b), and must not violate heightend pleading.
• Rule 9(g) is require to provide defendant to respond with damages.
• Courts had tried to implement heightened pleading requirements or civil acts claims.

Posible Comprimise

• The upper appelas courts had purposed a mittle ground and cases that over emphasize it.
• The standard for the judge to dissmissed would be to ask to case proceed.

Ethical Limits

Rule 11

• To provide honesty when requesting a modern pleading.
• Courts may permit alternative complaints or hypothesis that contradict the pleading

God Gift

Rule 11

• Helps govern sigature for requirements, preentation to courts, but only when certain it is reasonable.
• Safe Harbour benefits, and allows for a time period, but it does not need to go beyond.

Rule 11 Ethics

• Certifications are continuous and may contain misintentions, and sanctions may occur.

English Law

Rule 11

• Five steps would have to passed for it to be true, such as winning cases.

Criticisms

• By judge that safe harbours contain less sanction and may result fraudulent action, which is not always the case, and actions must be done in good faith.

Judgemental Power for Actions

• If claims are deemed for dismissal may sanctions are pursued, and must allow for judge to dismiss.

Rule 11

Defendent Gift

• Protect rights, and can be used to make claims during defendent choices.

Involuntary Dismissal

41A Requirements

• Without prejudice is allowed, and must be protected against collateral action.

Collateral Actions

• Allows party to challeng prior events, which may affect if a party appears or defaults the claim.
• However, this may result loss of law suit.

Courts

• Has three options default, appeal, or appear in the case.

Awaiving Appeal

• Occurs under three conditions when facts has no legal claims, can't provide evidence, and must provide statement and signature if these requirements were meet.

The Default Judgement

• It is a rule that when a defendent fails to provide or defend the cleark can impose deault on them.

12(b) Protections

• States when defendants defaults and challenges jurdication and waives right to assert merits from the claims made.

Direct Attack

• Defendants appear, and challenge jurisdiction which may result in them having less jurdiction or limitations.
• Has two quesitons to ask property and personal jurisdiciton?

9(c)

• Judgement does not need provign unless jurdication is challeged.

12(h)(3)

• The court must dismiss its self if jurdixtion is not provided.