Rule 8 — General Rules of Pleading

Fed. R. Civ. P. 8

• Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
• Rule: 8
• TITLE III: PLEADINGS AND MOTIONS
• Citation: Fed. R. Civ. P. 8

Text

(a) CLAIM FOR RELIEF. A pleading that states a claim for relief
must contain:
(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s
jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the
claim needs no new jurisdictional support;
(2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief; and
(3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief
in the alternative or different types of relief.
(b) DEFENSES; ADMISSIONSANDDENIALS.
(1) In General. In responding to a pleading, a party must:
(A) state in short and plain terms its defenses to each
claim asserted against it; and
(B) admit or deny the allegations asserted against it by
an opposing party.
(2) Denials—Responding to the Substance. A denial must fairly
respond to the substance of the allegation.
(3) General and Specific Denials. A party that intends in good
faith to deny all the allegations of a pleading—including the
jurisdictional grounds—may do so by a general denial. A party
that does not intend to deny all the allegations must either
specifically deny designated allegations or generally deny all
except those specifically admitted.
(4) Denying Part of an Allegation. A party that intends in
good faith to deny only part of an allegation must admit the
part that is true and deny the rest.
(5) Lacking Knowledge or Information. A party that lacks
knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the
truth of an allegation must so state, and the statement has
the effect of a denial.
(6) Effect of Failing to Deny. An allegation—other than one
relating to the amount of damages—is admitted if a responsive

pleading is required and the allegation is not denied. If a re-
sponsive pleading is not required, an allegation is considered
denied or avoided.
(c) AFFIRMATIVEDEFENSES.
(1) In General. In responding to a pleading, a party must af-
firmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defense, includ-
ing:
• accord and satisfaction;
• arbitration and award;
• assumption of risk;
• contributory negligence;
• duress;
• estoppel;
• failure of consideration;
• fraud;
• illegality;
• injury by fellow servant;
• laches;
• license;
• payment;
• release;
• res judicata;
• statute of frauds;
• statute of limitations; and
• waiver.
(2) Mistaken Designation. If a party mistakenly designates a
defense as a counterclaim, or a counterclaim as a defense, the
court must, if justice requires, treat the pleading as though it
were correctly designated, and may impose terms for doing so.
(d) PLEADING TO BE CONCISE AND DIRECT; ALTERNATIVE STATE-
MENTS; INCONSISTENCY.
(1) In General. Each allegation must be simple, concise, and
direct. No technical form is required.
(2) Alternative Statements of a Claim or Defense. A party may
set out 2 or more statements of a claim or defense alter-
natively or hypothetically, either in a single count or defense
or in separate ones. If a party makes alternative statements,
the pleading is sufficient if any one of them is sufficient.
(3) Inconsistent Claims or Defenses. A party may state as many
separate claims or defenses as it has, regardless of consist-
ency.
(e) CONSTRUING PLEADINGS. Pleadings must be construed so as to
do justice.

Advisory Committee Notes

(As amended Feb. 28, 1966, eff. July 1, 1966; Mar. 2, 1987, eff. Aug. 1, 1987; Apr. 30, 2007, eff. Dec. 1, 2007; Apr. 28, 2010, eff. Dec. 1, 2010.)