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Rule 10 – Form of Pleadings

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, South Carolina

(a) Caption, Name of Parties. Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the State and County, the name of the Court, the title of the action, the file number and a designation as in Rule 7(a). In the summons and complaint the title of the action shall include the names of all 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.
(a)(1) Unknown Parties. When a party does not know the name of an adverse party he may state that fact in the pleadings and designate such adverse party by any name and the words “whose true name is unknown,” and when his true name is discovered the pleadings must be amended accordingly.
(b) Paragraphs; Separate Statements. All averments of the facts of a cause of action or defense and demands for relief shall be made in consecutive 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 a paragraph may be referred to by number in all succeeding pleadings. Each cause of action and each defense shall be stated in a separate cause of action or defense.
(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 plat, photograph, diagram, document, or other paper which is an exhibit to a pleading is a part thereof for all purposes if a copy is attached to such pleading.
(d) Manner of Preparing Papers. With the exception of court-approved forms, pleadings and other papers shall be on eight and one-half by eleven inches in size paper. They shall be plainly written with adequate spacing between lines or typewritten with not less than one and one-half spacing between lines, except for indented quotations or footnotes. Papers must have a blank margin of a minimum of one inch on all sides. Type for captions, text, and footnotes shall be a minimum size of twelve-point type. Each page shall be numbered consecutively and pages shall be fastened at the top so as to read continuously. Page numbers and document identification footers may appear in margins and sized smaller than twelve-point type. Plats, photographs, diagrams, documents, and other paper exhibits or copies thereof may be submitted in their actual size; they should be reduced if practicable to eight and one-half by eleven inches if such reduction does not impair legibility and clarity.
(e) Filing Refused. The clerk of the court shall not file any pleadings or other papers not prepared in accordance with this rule; except plats, photographs, diagrams, documents, and other paper exhibits as provided in paragraph 10(c).

S.c. R. Civ. P. 10

Last amended effectiveApril 26, 2016.

This Rule 10(a) is substantially the same as the Federal Rule and conforms to present State practice. This Rule 10(a)(1) preserves Code §15-13-70 as to unknown parties. This Rule 10(b) is substantially the same as the Federal Rule and restates Circuit Rule 18, paragraph one. The Rule adheres to fact pleading by reference to “cause of action” instead of the word “claim” in the Federal Rule. This Rule 10(c) is the same as the Federal Rule, except that it requires copies of exhibits to be attached to the pleading, if they are to be considered a part thereof. Rule 10(d) is added to the Federal Rules to conform to the new State Rules as to form and style of papers as prescribed by Supreme Court Rule 5, and Circuit Court Rule 13. Note to 1990 Amendment: This amendment deletes a reference to the Supreme Court Rules which have been repealed. This Rule 10(e) is added to preserve Code §15-9-1000, and Circuit Court Rule 12.