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Rule 10 – Form of Pleadings

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Mississippi

(a) Caption; Names of Parties. Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title of the action, the file 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.
(b) Paragraphs; Separate Statement. The first paragraph of a claim for relief shall contain the names and, if known, the addresses of all the parties. All averments of claim or defense shall be made in numbered paragraphs, the contents of each of which shall be limited as far as practicable to a statement of a single set of circumstances; and the paragraph may be referred to by number in all succeeding pleadings. Each claim founded upon a separate transaction or occurrence and each defense other than denials shall be stated in a separate count or defense whenever a separation facilitates the clear presentation of the matters set forth.
(c) Adoption by Reference; Exhibits. Statements in a pleading may be adopted by reference in a different part of the same pleading or in another pleading or in any motion. A copy of any written instrument which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes.
(d) Copy Must Be Attached. When any claim or defense is founded on an account or other written instrument, a copy thereof should be attached to or filed with the pleading unless sufficient justification for its omission is stated in the pleading.

Miss. R. Civ. P. 10

Amended effective April 13, 2000.

Advisory Committee Historical Note

Effective April 13, 2000, Rule 10(d) was amended to suggest, rather than require that documents on which a claim or defense is based be attached to a pleading. 753-745 So. 2d XVII (West Miss. Cas. 2000.)

Comment

Failure to comply with the requirements of Rule 10(b) is not ground for dismissal of the complaint or striking the answer. Instead, the court, upon a motion or on its own, may order a party to amend the pleading so as to comply with the provisions of Rule 10(b). See, e.g., 3M Co. v. Glass, 917 So. 2d 90, 92-94 (Miss. 2005); Harold’s Auto Parts, Inc. v. Mangialardi, 889 So. 2d 493, 494-95 (Miss. 2004).

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