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Rule 7 – Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Vermont

(a)Pleadings. There shall be a complaint and an answer; a disclosure under oath, if trustee process is used; a reply to a counterclaim denominated as such; an answer to a cross-claim, if the answer contains a cross-claim; a third-party complaint, if a person who was not an original party is summoned under the provisions of Rule 14; and a third-party answer, if a third-party complaint is served. No other pleading shall be allowed, except that the court may order a reply to an answer or a third-party answer.
(b)Motions and Other Papers.

(1) An application to the court for an order shall be by motion which, unless made during a hearing or trial, shall be made in writing, shall state with particularity the grounds therefor including a concise statement of the facts and law relied on, and shall set forth the relief or order sought.
(2) The rules applicable to captions and other matters of form of pleadings apply to all motions and other papers provided for by these rules.
(3) All motions shall be signed in accordance with Rule 11.
(4) When a moving party wishes to request an opportunity to present evidence pursuant to Rule 78(b), that request shall be submitted with the motion to which it applies or within 7 days of service of the memorandum in opposition. Where this rule requires a motion to be in writing, the request for an opportunity to present evidence shall be in writing. The request for an opportunity to present evidence shall include a statement of the evidence which the party wishes to offer.
(c)Demurrers, Pleas, Etc., Abolished. Demurrers, pleas, and exceptions for insufficiency of a pleading shall not be used.

Vt. R. Civ. P. 7

Amended Oct. 30, 1979, eff. Dec. 3, 1979; Oct. 21, 1983, eff. Jan. 1, 1984; Dec. 14, 1989, eff. March 1, 1990; amended Sept. 20, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018.

Reporter’s Notes-2018 Amendment

Rule 7(b)(4) is amended to extend its 5-day time period to 7 days consistent with the simultaneous “day is a day” amendments to V.R.C.P. 6.