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 document that 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 to the judge in your current case that something has occurred that needs judicial intervention. These forms can be difficult to draft if you do not know how to format a legal pleading. If your case is complicated or has many issues that need to be addressed by a court, seek the advice of an attorney prior to drafting your own legal pleading.
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Obtain blank pleading paper on the Internet, from the courthouse, or from an office supply store. Pleading paper is legal paper that has numbers 1 through 28 in the left hand margin. You must draft legal pleadings on pleading paper or the court will refuse your document.

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Type your name, address, and phone number in the top left corner of the pleading 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

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 numbers needed to contact you for those calling you from outside of your local calling area.

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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 the court, such as "Superior Court of California." The official name is centered with the location of the court one double-spaced line down.

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State the parties and case information appropriately. The plaintiff is the person who has alleged conduct he believes is actionable in court. The defendant is the person who is being sued.
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Leave a double space after the court's information. On the left side of the pleading 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 an abbreviation for the word "versus." Double space one more time and state the full name of the defendant. On the next line type the word "Defendant." 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 court and identifies your case from all the others in the courthouse. Find the case number 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." and leave 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 will include the information of which you want the judge to be aware, presented in the proper format.
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Number each paragraph if you are drafting a pleading that is an answer to the original complaint. Each numbered paragraph will correspond to each allegation in the complaint. Make your answers concise, only addressing one issue per numbered paragraph.

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Use double spacing for the entire body of the pleading. If you use single spacing, your pleading may be rejected by the court. Capitalize, underline, and place in bold the headings for your pleading. Unless you are drafting an answer to the original complaint, you will use headings to distinguish 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 readily find them. Place page numbers at the bottom and in the center of each page. A page number must be used even if your pleading is only one page in length.

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