Letter of complaint

Parts
of a complaint
Caption
Rule 10(a) states, “Every pleading
shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the county, the
title of the action, the docket number, and a designation as in Rule 7(a). In the complaint the title of the
action shall include the names of all the parties, but in other pleadings it is
sufficient to state the name of the first party on each side with an
appropriate indication of other parties.” The clerk’s office will
give you a docket number when you file your complaint.
Parties
The body of a complaint usually
begins with the identification of the plaintiffs and defendants. You should
give the name of each party in separate numbered paragraphs. The parties’ names
must be accompanied by their “respective residences or usual places of
business” Rule 10(d). If you know the residence or place of
business of a party, you must say so in the paragraph with the party’s name.
Statement
of Facts
The statement of facts is the
section of a complaint where you tell your story by stating the facts that
resulted in the dispute with the defendants. You should tell your story in a
straightforward manner that is “simple, concise, and direct.” Rule 8(e). The statement of facts should tell the
complete story, but it does not have to include every detail. You do not have
to provide evidence that the facts are true, and you should not include facts
or evidence that do not relate directly to your claims against the defendants.
A reader should be able to understand what happened, but should not have to
wade through pages of detailed descriptions.
Statement
of Claims
The statement of claims is the legal
analysis of the story you told in the statement of facts. You should identify
each claim (e.g. negligence, breach of contract, breach of warranty) separately
in its own section of the complaint. For each claim, go through every element
of the claim in separate paragraphs, stating the specific facts that establish
each element. “Elements” are the legally required grounds for a claim, which
you will find in your research before drafting your complaint. You do not have
to set out or explain the legal theory on which the claim is based. This means
you do not have to identify and explain the elements themselves; you can just
give the facts that would satisfy each element.
Request
for Relief
This section is where you tell the
court what relief you should get if you win. The relief may be an award of
damages, it may be an injunction to stop the defendants from acting or require
them to act, or it may be something else allowed by statute. You can request
multiple kinds of relief, either cumulatively (such as compensatory damages and
punitive damages) or in the alternative (such as an injunction or damages). In
general, the court is not bound by the request for relief and can grant
whatever relief you are entitled to if you win, even if you did not request it. Rule 54(c). Still, it is a good idea to end your
request for relief with a catchall paragraph that requests “such other
relief as the Court deems just.”
Jury
Demand
If your case is one that gives you a
right to a trial by jury, Rule 38(b) requires you to serve a demand
for a jury trial on the other parties in writing within ten days of the last
pleading related to the case (usually the defendants’ answer). If you do not
meet the deadline to demand a jury trial, you waive your right to a jury
trial. Rule 39(b). To be sure that you do not waive your
right to a jury trial, you should include a jury demand at the end of your
complaint. The jury demand can be a single sentence stating something such as
“Plaintiff demands trial by jury on all issues properly so tried.”

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