I.
Introduction or Preliminary Statement
(ONLY if, indeed, necessary)
Sample
1
This action
states
the following
causes of action: (1) sex discrimination (M.G.L. c. 151B), (2) aiding
and
abetting of sex discrimination (M.G.L. c. 151B), (3) sex discrimination
(Title VII), (4) aiding and abetting of sex discrimination (Title VII),
(5) retaliatory termination against public policy (cooperating with
government
investigations), (6) . . . , (7) . . . , and (10) Reserved for cause of
action which may become appropriate. See ANOTHER NOTE below.
The
action arises
out of Plaintiff's
having been a victim of ongoing sex discrimination, having cooperated
with
a United States Department of Labor [hereinafter "DOL"] investigation
of
company-wide sex discrimination and with an OSHA investigation, having
been retaliated as a result of her cooperation with the DOL
investigation,
and ultimately having been discharged from her employment Staff
Scientist/Project
Manager/Toxicologist/Health and Safety Officer. As a result of
Defendants'
conduct, Jane Doe suffered and was damaged in divers ways, including
but
not limited to, physical and emotional deterioration.
Sample
2
This is an
action in
which Plaintiff
is seeking recovery for services rendered in reliance on the decedent's
oral promise to take care of him for the rest of his life.
[For instance,
nephew takes
care of uncle after stroke for the last five years of the uncle's
life.
Or former girl friend takes care of terminally-ill former lover for the
rest of his.]
Sample
3 (Federal
Complaint)
John Doe of
Maine
and John Smith
of Massachusetts in their capacities as individuals and on behalf of
other
similarly situated persons hereby assert the following claims against
the
defendants in the above-entitled action:
(1) NEGLIGENCE, (2)
INTERFERENCE WITH PARENTAL RIGHTS,
(3)VIOLATION
OF 42 U.S.C. 1983 (AGAINST DOE), (4)VIOLATION
OF 42 U.S.C. 1983 (AGAINST SMITH),
(5)FEDERAL
AND STATE (M.G.L. c. 12, sec. 11I) CIVIL RIGHTS (AGAINST DOE),
(6)
FEDERAL AND STATE (M.G.L. c. 12, sec. 11I) CIVIL RIGHTS (AGAINST
SMITH),
(7) DEFAMATION,(8) CIVIL
RICO, (9)
BREACH OF CONTRACT, (10) NEGLIGENT
INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, (11) INTENTIONAL
INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, (12) VIOLATION
OF G.L. c.
93A.
II.
Jurisdiction (ONLY in federal court)
III.
Parties (ALWAYS)
IV.
Facts
V.
Causes of Action (traditional name for "claims").
Label them Count 1, Count 2, etc.
A.
Lay
out the common-law counts,
for instance, breach of contract,
negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, etc.
i. Write a sentence for each
element
of
the cause of action: for instance,
negligence has four elements,
o
duty
o
breach
of duty
o
harm
o
damages
Be sure to write
one sentence or so in one
paragraph for each element.
Be sure to learn
the elements of cause of
action you think you want to put in your
complaint.
~NOTE~
Elements of the
cause of action
(the claim) of intentional infliction of emotional distress,
quoted from Agis v.
Howard
Johnson Co., 371 Mass. 140 (1976), the seminal case in
Massachusetts
for this tort:
(1)
that the defendant intended to inflict emotional distress, or knew or
should
have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his
conduct,
. . .
(2)
that the defendant's conduct was extreme and outrageous, beyond all
possible
bounds of decency, and utterly intolerable in a civilized
community,
(3)
[that] the actions of the defendant were the cause of the plaintiff's
distress,
and
(4)
[that] the emotional distress suffered by the plaintiff was severe and
of such a nature that no reasonable person could be expected to endure
it.
. . . "mere
insults, indignities,
threats, annoyances, petty oppressions or other trivialities" is not
enough for liability.
It is also
not enough "that the
defendant has acted with an intent which is tortious or even criminal,
or that he has intended to inflict emotional distress, or even that his
conduct has been characterized by `malice,' or a degree of aggravation
which would entitle the plaintiff to punitive damages for another tort."
B.
Then lay out the counts in which you're
going to be suing on statutes.
Be sure to put
only one statute in one
count.
Then list the violations of
them.
VI.
WHEREFORE clauses -- the damages.
Put these at the end of EACH cause of action,
since the damages one can get varies from count
to count, statute to statute.
~~NOTE~~
Case citations DO
NOT NOT NOT
belong in a
Complaint.
If you find an important case and you want to be sure not to forget it
or lose it, put it in a footnote to a fact which that case supports.
~~ANOTHER
NOTE~~
Some judges tend
to make Solomonic
decisions: they want to give something to each side of the "v."
Therefore, plan on
putting in
one or even two or three counts at the end which are "throwaways,"
causes of action for which there is not much hope.
You see this often
in a summary-judgment
decision:
Motion
DENIED
as to Counts I through IV.
Motion ALLOWED as to Counts V through
VII.
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