RULE 8. GENERAL RULES OF PLEADING
(a) Claims for Relief. A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, must contain (i) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and (ii) a demand for judgment for the relief the pleader seeks. Relief in the alternative or of several different types may be demanded.
(b) Defenses-Form of Denials. A party shall state in short and plain terms the party's defenses to each claim asserted and shall admit or deny the averments upon which the adverse party relies. If a party is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of an averment, the party shall so state and this has the effect of a denial. Denials must fairly meet the substance of the averments denied. If a pleader intends in good faith to deny only a part or a qualification of an averment, the pleader shall specify so much of it as is true and material and shall deny only the remainder. Unless the pleader intends in good faith to controvert all the averments of the preceding pleading, the pleader may make denials as specific denials of designated averments or paragraphs, or may generally deny all the averments except such designated averments or paragraphs as the pleader expressly admits; but, if the pleader does so intend to controvert all its averments, the pleader may do so by general denial, subject to the obligations set forth in Rule 11.
(c) Affirmative Defenses. In pleading to a preceding pleading, a party shall set forth affirmatively accord and satisfaction, arbitration and award, assumption of risk, contributory negligence, discharge in bankruptcy, duress, estoppel, failure of consideration, fraud, illegality, injury by fellow servant, laches, license, payment, release, res judicata, statute of frauds, statute of limitations, waiver, and any other matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense. When a party has mistakenly designated a defense as a counterclaim or a counterclaim as a defense, the court on terms, if justice so requires, shall treat the pleading as if there had been a proper designation.
(d) Effect of Failure to Deny. Averments in a pleading to which a responsive pleading is required, other than those as to the amount of damage, are admitted when not denied in the responsive pleading. Averments in a pleading to which no responsive pleading is required or permitted shall be taken as denied or avoided.
(e) Pleading to Be Concise and Direct-Consistency.
(1) Each averment of a pleading must be simple, concise, and direct. No technical forms of pleading or motions are required.
(2) A party may set forth two or more statements of a claim or defense alternatively or hypothetically, either in one count or defense or in separate counts or defenses. If two or more statements are made in the alternative and one of them if made independently would be sufficient, the pleading is not made insufficient by the insufficiency of one or more of the alternative statements. A party may also state as many separate claims or defenses as the party has, regardless of consistency and whether based on legal or on equitable grounds or on both. All statements made are subject to the obligations set forth in Rule 11.
(f) Construction of Pleadings. All pleadings shall be so construed as to do substantial justice.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This rule is identical to Rule 8, FRCivP, except for the deletion of references to a showing of grounds for jurisdiction in subdivisions (a) and (b) and maritime grounds in subdivision (d)(2).Subdivisions (a), (b), and (e) were amended, effective March 1, 1990. The amendments are technical in nature and no substantive change is intended.
Previous to the adoption of N.D.R.Civ.P., a complaint or counterclaim was required to allege the pleader's "cause of action." Section 28 0702 NDRC 1943. Because of considerable confusion among the courts as to what constituted a "cause of action," Rule 8 was cast in language designed to finesse the confusion as well as to simplify the pleader's task.
Wright and Miller put it this way:
"The substitution of "claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief' for code formulation of the "facts' constituting a "cause of action' was intended to avoid the distinctions drawn under the codes among "evidentiary facts,' "ultimate facts,' and "conclusions' and eliminate the unfortunate rigidity and confusion surrounding the words "cause of action' that had developed under the codes. The draftsmen of the federal rules obviously felt that the use of a new formulation would emphasize the modern philosophy of procedure espoused by the federal rules, destroy the viability of the old code precedents, and encourage a more flexible approach by the courts in defining the concept of claim for relief." Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 1216.
The leading case of Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), makes clear that a complaint is sufficient if plaintiff would be entitled to relief under any state of facts that could be proven in support of the claim alleged.
While the pleading of "facts" constituting a "cause of action" may suffice as a statement of a "claim for relief" under this rule, the pleader runs the risk of pleading more than "a short and plain statement of the claim" as well as pleading "evidentiary facts" and "conclusions." These matters are subject to a motion to strike under Rule 12(f). See, 4 Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure (3d ed.)14.157.
For historical background of the development of Rule 8, see R.W. Miller, Civil Procedure of the Trial Court in Historical Perspective (1952), Chapters VI, VII and XIII.
SOURCES: Joint Procedure Committee Minutes of April 20, 1989, page 2; December 3, 1987, page 11; April 26, 1984, page 17; November 29-30, 1979, pages 3 4; September 20-21, 1979, page 6; Rule 8, FRCivP.
STATUTES AFFECTED:
SUPERSEDED: Section 28-01.1-03, N.D.C.C.; Sections 28-0701, 28-0702, 28-1710, 28-1715, 28-0729, 28-0731, 28-0732, 28-0733, 28-0740, 28-0741, 28-0742, NDRC 1943.
CROSS REFERENCE: Rules 7 (Pleadings Allowed-Form of Pleadings), 11 (Signing of Pleadings), 12 (Defenses and Objections-When and How Presented-By Pleading or Motion-Motions for Judgment on Pleadings), 15 (Amended and Supplemental Pleadings), 38 (Jury Trial of Right), and 44.1 (Determination of Foreign Law), N.D.R.Civ.P.