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  1. United States Courts
  2. Court Rules
  3. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
  4. Rule 10. Form of Pleadings
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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 10. Form of Pleadings

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    (a) Caption; Names of Parties. Every pleading must have a caption with the court’s name, a title, a file number, and a Rule 7(a) designation. The title of the complaint must name all the parties; the title of other pleadings, after naming the first party on each side, may refer generally to other parties.

    (b) Paragraphs; Separate Statements. A party must state its claims or defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence—and each defense other than a denial—must be stated in a separate count or defense.

    (c) Adoption by Reference; Exhibits. A statement in a pleading may be adopted by reference elsewhere in the same pleading or in any other pleading or motion. A copy of a written instrument that is an exhibit to a pleading is a part of the pleading for all purposes.

    Previous ruleRule 9. Pleading Special Matters Next ruleRule 11. Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
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