Pleading

What makes a good pleading?
Pleading is a formal written statement of a cause of an action or a

defense. To make a good pleading is to persuade the judge to rule in your
favor. First you make your allegations or defenses strong by alleging or
support all the elements of your claim or defense. The allegations and the
elements must blend perfectly to each other in order to prove and have a
strong claim. Furthermore, your pleading must be straight to the point in order
to get to your purpose do not include other fancy words or issue not included
in your claims. Furthermore, give your pleading a good structure by laying
down words in the proper order and make the flow in chronological order.
With proper structure of your pleading you can persuade the judge that your
claims are credible. Furthermore, use the appropriate headings so that the
judge can understand more about your claims. Furthermore, good pleadings
must have a clear prayer of relief in order the court can understand what you
want as a result of the case. If the prayer is not clear it would result that the
judge may give you less than what you asked for. Furthermore, when you
make a pleading stay away from jargon and complicated technical words,
especially those you don’t know the real meaning. This will jeopardize your
pleading instead use words that are simple and appropriate for the point
you’re trying to make. Lastly, after making your pleading review it thoroughly
and proofread it. Check any typos and spelling errors and things like double
negatives and inappropriate punctuation marks. Also your pleadings shall be
in proper format.
What is the effect of a poorly written pleading as compared to a well-written

one?
There are many effects of a poorly written pleading. The effect which a
lawyer could be his/her nightmare is the dismissal of the complaint due to
his/her poor pleading. There are also some effect in a poorly written pleading
in the following cases:
1. In the case of Kuzmin v. Thermaflo, Inc., Nos. 2:07-cv-00554-TJW,

2:08-cv-0031-TJW-CE, 2009 WL 1421173 (E.D. Tex. May 20, 2009)
The court noted that counsel’s brief was badly formatted and contained
numerous spelling errors. Id. at *2. The court admonished the plaintiff’s
attorney, stating, “By submitting a poorly written brief, the attorney fails
the Court as well as the client.” The latter case it includes that the
effect is not only dismissal but also it fails the court to give justice and
the client who want justice.
2. In the case of “In re Hawkins, 502 N.W.2d 770 (Minn. 1993)”. The court
found that the attorney engaged in unprofessional conduct because he
demonstrated “a lack of writing skill” by producing legal pleadings that
were incomprehensible due to their numerous spelling, grammatical,
and typographical errors. The court publicly reprimanded the attorney
and ordered him to successfully complete at least ten hours of a legal
writing program and at least five hours of a law office management
program. Here in this case the effect of poor pleading made a lawyer to
take a schooling again in writing.
3. Sanfilippo v. Comm’r of Social Sec., No. 8:04-CV-2079-T-27MSS, 2008

WL 1957836 (M.D. Fla. May 5, 2008). The United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida greatly reduced the plaintiff’s attorney
fees requested in accordance with 42 U.S.C. §406(b) and the Equal
Access to Justice Act (EAJA). The court found that the attorney’s work
was not of high quality because it did not reflect the preparation time
claimed to have been invested in drafting the legal memoranda, it was
replete with spelling and grammatical errors, and it contained
conjecture and hyperbolic editorializations, which do not belong in legal
pleadings. In this case the effect is the diminution of the attorneys fee
of the lawyer.
4. In the case of “In re Hogan, 490 N.E.2d 1281 (Ill. 1986)”. The Supreme
Court of Illinois placed an attorney on inactive bar status, concluding
that he was “incapable of adequately serving the public” because he
“lacked the fundamental skill of drafting pleadings and briefs.” The
court ordered that the attorney come up with a rehabilitation plan,
which could include obtaining the aid of “teachers or such other
professions and disciplines.” The attorney was ordered to remain
inactive until he “demonstrated competence sufficient to engage in the
practice of law.” Here, in this case, the lawyer was put in an inactive
bar status until the latter know how to make a pleadings.
Thus, pleadings not only make your complaint be dismiss. The lawyer
making it may be reprimanded to go back to school, lessen his attorney’s fees
and worst subject to an order by the court to be inactive until he/she have the
fundamental skill to make a good pleadings.
On the other hand, a well-written pleading will give your client a relief,
unlikely to be dismissed, perceived as credible, not confusing and persuade
the judge that his/her judgment be in favor to you.
Kenneth Jade D. Celestial

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What makes a good pleading?

Pleading is a formal written statement of a cause of an action or a

What is the effect of a poorly written pleading as compared to a well-written

1. In the case of Kuzmin v. Thermaflo, Inc., Nos. 2:07-cv-00554-TJW,

3. Sanfilippo v. Comm’r of Social Sec., No. 8:04-CV-2079-T-27MSS, 2008

Kenneth Jade D. Celestial

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