sham pleading

noun | plead·ing

1. a : one of the formal declarations (as a complaint or answer) exchanged by the parties in a legal proceeding (as a suit) setting forth claims, averments, allegations, denials, or defenses; also : a written document embodying such a declaration — see also relation back : a written document embodying such a declaration — see also relation back

   b : any of the allegations, averments, claims, denials, or defenses set forth in a pleading

   — alternative pleading
   : a pleading that sets out an alternative theory in support of a plaintiff's claim for relief or a defendant's defense

   — amended pleading
   : a pleading that is filed to replace an original pleading and that contains matters omitted from or not known at the time of the original pleading

   — responsive pleading
   : a pleading that directly responds to another pleading (as by denying in an answer allegations in a complaint)

   — sham pleading
   : a pleading that is factually false, is not made in good faith, and that may be struck

   — supplemental pleading
   : a pleading that supplements an earlier pleading with matters that have occurred or come into existence since the date of the original pleading

2. : a process or system through which the parties in a legal proceeding present their allegations

   — code pleading
   : pleading (as fact pleading) done in accordance with the rules set down in a code Note: Code pleading began in 1848 in New York State and was a departure from the complex system of common-law pleading, which included a lengthy set of stages by which a single issue was produced, and which was determined by the type of writ under which the plaintiff proceeded.

   — fact pleading
   : pleading that requires a plaintiff to set out in the complaint facts sufficient to establish a cause of action — compare notice pleading in this entry

   — notice pleading
   : pleading that is characterized especially by a simplified description sufficient to give notice of a claim or defense rather than by a technical account of any facts pertinent to the claim or defense — compare fact pleading in this entry Note: Notice pleading is allowed under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and in a majority of states, although complex cases often require substantial detail in the pleading.