7/27/2019 How to Format a Legal Pleading

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How to Format a Legal Pleading Edited by Carolyn Barratt, Stropynine, Tiagoroth, Aramanda and 2 others

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 A legal pleading is a document drafted and filed with the court. It is a documentthat can trigger a complaint against another person in civil court or is the answer to a complaint that has been filed against you. It can also be formal notification tothe judge in your current case that something has occurred that needs judicialintervention. These forms can be difficult to draft if you do not know how toformat a legal pleading. If your case is complicated or has many issues that needto be addressed by a court, seek the advice of an attorney prior to drafting your own legal pleading.

EditSteps

1. 1

Obtain blank pleading paper on the Internet, from the courthouse, or froman office supply store. Pleading paper is legal paper that has numbers 1through 28 in the left hand margin. You must draft legal pleadings on pleadingpaper or the court will refuse your document.

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Type your name, address, and phone number in the top left corner of thepleading paper . Use four separate, but single-spaced lines. On the first line,place your full name. The second line must state your street address with the

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next line for your city, state, and zip code information. The last line is for your complete phone number. The complete phone number includes all numbersneeded to contact you for those calling you from outside of your local callingarea.

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Provide the court's information two lines after your information and center it in the middle of the page. Court information includes the official name of thecourt, such as "Superior Court of California." The official name is centered withthe location of the court one double-spaced line down.

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State the parties and case information appropriately. The plaintiff is theperson who has alleged conduct he believes is actionable in court. Thedefendant is the person who is being sued.

o  Leave a double space after the court's information. On the left side of thepleading paper, state the full name of the plaintiff in the case. On the next line,type the word "Plaintiff." Space down two lines and type a "v" which is anabbreviation for the word "versus." Double space one more time and state the fullname of the defendant. On the next line type the word "Defendant."

o  Enter "Case No." on the same line but directly across from where you entered

the plaintiff's information. The case number is the number assigned by the courtand identifies your case from all the others in the courthouse. Find the casenumber on the initial complaint or any other legal document regarding your case.If this is the first legal pleading for the complaint, there will be no case number until it's assigned by the court. If it is the first legal pleading, write "Case No." andleave the area blank.

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Begin drafting the body of your legal pleading. After you've listed the parties,double-space down to begin drafting the pleading. The body of your pleading willinclude the information of which you want the judge to be aware, presented in theproper format.

o  Number each paragraph if you are drafting a pleading that is an answer to theoriginal complaint. Each numbered paragraph will correspond to each allegationin the complaint. Make your answers concise, only addressing one issue per numbered paragraph.

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o  Use double spacing for the entire body of the pleading. If you use single spacing,your pleading may be rejected by the court.

o  Capitalize, underline, and place in bold the headings for your pleading. Unlessyou are drafting an answer to the original complaint, you will use headings todistinguish issues from one another. The judge will want to identify your headings

quickly. By making them stand out in the document, the judge can more readilyfind them.

o  Place page numbers at the bottom and in the center of each page. A pagenumber must be used even if your pleading is only one page in length.

6. 6Sign and date the pleading. After the body of your pleading, double space andsign your pleading. Under your signature, type your full name. Across from your signature, date the document.