A troubling trend toward prolixity in pleading is infecting dockets in this district and elsewhere. As this case illustrates, a growing number of attorneys, from solo practitioners to “big law” partners, are ignoring Rule 8 and its exhortation that “[a] pleading… must contain… a short and plain statement of the claim….” UPS launched its relatively straightforward claims with a sprawling 175-paragraph Complaint, larded with more than 1,400 pages of exhibits. That initial pleading, masquerading as a summary judgment motion, may have been intended by UPS to overwhelm the defendants. But the Hagans were not deterred. They retaliated with a 210-page, 1,020-paragraph Answer asserting twelve counterclaims and attaching voluminous exhibits.
UPS and the Franchisees sought leave to dismiss the Hagans’ counterclaims. At a pre-motion conference, this Court expressed concern about the length of both side’s pleadings. … [In an amended Answer,] [i]nstead of shrinking their pleading, [the Hagans] enlarged it to a breathtaking 1,263 paragraphs, spanning 303 pages. It brims with irrelevant and redundant allegations.
And so, more than a year after this action was filed, the parties continue to spar over their behemoth pleadings.
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— Judge William Pauley III (S.D.N.Y.), lamenting the fact that lawyers have tossed “short and plain statement[s]” to the wayside, and scolding attorneys from Reed Smith and solo practitioner Stephen Savva for submitting dueling “behemoth pleadings.”
(Flip to the next page to see Judge Pauley’s order in its entirety.)