Legal Definitions - common-law pleading

Common-law pleading is a system of defining and narrowing the issues in a lawsuit whereby the parties file formal documents alleging their respective positions. It was historically used in the three common-law courts of England up to 1873.

Examples of common-law pleadings include:

• Plaintiff's complaint
• Defendant's answer
• Accusatory pleading (indictment, information, or complaint by which the government begins a criminal prosecution)
• Amended pleading (replaces an earlier pleading and contains matters omitted from or not known at the time of the earlier pleading)
• Supplemental pleading (corrects a defect in an earlier pleading or addresses facts arising since the earlier pleading was filed)

These examples illustrate how common-law pleading involves formal documents that set forth or respond to allegations, claims, denials, or defenses in a legal proceeding. The purpose of common-law pleading is to define and narrow the issues in a lawsuit so that the parties can present their respective positions and the court can make a fair and just decision.