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The Specificity Of Pleading In Modern Civil Practice: Addressing Common Misconceptions, Ian James Wilson, William Louis Payne

University of Richmond Law Review

The pleading procedure serves as the foundation for the entire legal process. Pleadings focus the issues, narrow the evidence admissible at trial, apprise the adverse party and the court of the matter in dispute, and provide the extent of the res judicata effect of the judgment. To secure the foundation and to effectuate the purposes of the pleading procedure, it is imperative that the pleading set forth sufficient allegations. The standard for determining the sufficiency of the allegations is referred to as the specificity requirement and serves as the focus of this Note.