What is a Pleading?

Summary

• A pleading is a formal court document that sets out your claim or defence in a legal dispute. 
• It includes the key facts and allegations you rely on, helping define the issues the court must decide. 
• Common pleadings include a statement of claim and a defence, filed at the start of proceedings. 
• This guide explains pleadings for business owners in Australia, outlining their role in litigation, prepared by LegalVision, a commercial law firm that specialises in advising clients on disputes.
• It provides a practical explanation of how pleadings structure a case and ensure each party understands the issues to be addressed.

Tips for Businesses

Ensure your pleading clearly sets out all relevant facts and claims. Avoid including evidence—focus on key facts only. Be precise and concise to prevent confusion or challenges. Poorly drafted pleadings can be struck out, so seek legal advice to ensure your case is properly presented from the outset.

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On this page

• What is the Purpose of Pleadings?
• Who Files What Pleading?
• The Particulars 
• Strike Out 
• What Relief Does a Party Seek?
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

A pleading is a formal court document that sets out the facts, allegations and legal basis of a party’s claim or defence in a dispute. It defines the issues the court must decide and informs the other party of the case they need to respond to. This article explains what a pleading is and what it typically contains.

What is the Purpose of Pleadings?

Pleadings present all allegations of fact that are relevant to the case and which the parties will need to prove if the matter runs to a trial. Importantly, a party must include in its pleadings any fact or matter which may take the other party by surprise or make the other party’s case not maintainable. 

Further, it is not the role of pleadings to contain all of the evidence which a party will rely on to prove their claim or defence. Pleadings set out the facts and will then govern what evidence is required to prove those facts. 

It is not necessary to set out all of the evidence which proves the facts set out in the pleadings. For example, it would not be necessary for you to include in the pleading that other workers can confirm that you did the work or that the person who hired you said “thank you”. The proper place for evidence of that nature is either in an affidavit or the witness box at a trial.

Ultimately, evidence given by way of an affidavit, in person at the trial, or from the relevant documents will go to proving the allegations of fact. Until then, the pleadings define the parameters of the case. 

Who Files What Pleading?

The party making the claim is required to file the first pleading, which sets out the claim. This is usually called a statement of claim or a summons. 

This then entitles the other party to file a defence to that claim, which responds to each fact asserted. Any facts admitted to in the defence are considered to be agreed facts in the proceeding. Those facts not admitted to or disputed in a defence become the issues to be determined in the proceeding.

The Particulars 

Parties must appropriately particularise their allegations, meaning that each of the stated facts must be sufficiently detailed. This is where things get slightly complicated. 

For example, if you want to allege that a contract was formed between two parties, then you must specify:

• whether the contract was oral or in writing;
• the date it was formed;
• who exactly made the agreement; and 
• what the terms of the agreement were. 

If the other party thinks that you have not sufficiently particularised your pleading, it may request that you provide further particulars. You can request this by way of a letter, or sometimes, the other party may apply to the court for orders that you provide particulars or amend your pleading to include these particulars. 

Strike Out 

A court can strike out a claim if a:

• pleading does not contain all of the facts necessary to prove the claim; or
• notice of defence does not include the facts necessary to raise a proper defence.

Other reasons that a pleading (or part of it) may be struck out are that it contains allegations that are: 

• unclear; 
• scandalous; or 
• irrelevant to the case. 

The court may strike out all or part of a pleading. Where a pleading is partially struck out, the remainder of it may be sufficient for the matter. Suppose that a court strikes out all of the pleading. Usually, it will give the party that prepared it a chance to amend it to raise all necessary matters. However, in some cases, the court may give judgment in favour of the other party.

What Relief Does a Party Seek?

Finally, inform the court and other parties of the relief or remedies sought as part of the claim. This is formally known as the ‘prayer for relief’. It is usually introduced by words such as “the plaintiff claims the following relief…”. 

Returning to the above example regarding taking action against a customer who did not pay you for work that you performed, the relief you may seek includes:

1. damages in the amount of the agreed fee for work;
2. interest on the fees owing;
3. your court costs and legal fees; and
4. such other order as the court deems fit.  

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Key Takeaways

Pleadings identify the key issues for determination and do not need to contain all of the evidence that a party will rely on to prove their claim or defence. Instead, they only need to set out the facts. Additionally, it is important to ensure that you sufficiently particularise pleading. This will avoid the possibility of the court striking out all or part of the pleading.

If you need assistance drafting a pleading or have any questions about your dispute, LegalVision provides ongoing legal support for businesses through our fixed-fee legal membership. Our experienced dispute resolution lawyers help businesses manage contracts, employment law, disputes, intellectual property, and more, with unlimited access to specialist lawyers for a fixed monthly fee. To learn more about LegalVision’s legal membership, call 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions