Litigation Fundamentals | Against "Shotgun" Pleadings Dismissals

Henry M. Quillian III discusses prohibition pleadings in this episode of Litigation Fundamentals, noting how devastating they can be to cases. Henry opens by defining the characterizes shotgun pleadings as having 1) multiple counts that each adopt the allegations of the preceding counts 2) immaterial facts that do not clearly connect to a cause of action 3) failing to separate each clause into distinct counts OR 4) combining multiple claims against multiple defendants without specifying which defendant is responsible for which act. Henry further shares the Eleventh Circuit’s statement that tolerating shotgun pleadings constitutes toleration of obstruction of justice.

Using case examples, Henry highlights the function of Rule 8 of Federal Civil Procedure to provide guidance on notice pleadings, focused on short and plain language to avoid shotgun pleadings. He further expands on pleading requirements from the Supreme Court in interpreting Rule 8 and Rule 10 applied to a complaint. Other topics addressed include fraud and mistake-based cases along with arguments against assertions that a pleading is a shotgun pleading. Shotgun pleading is a rule that doesn’t have judicial sanctions by the U.S. Supreme Court, meaning no cases anywhere should be able to be dismissed by a shotgun pleading grounds.