Rule 9.Pleading special matters.

A pleading ordinarily does not need to allege a party’s capacity to sue, its authority to sue in a representative role, or the legal existence of an organization that is a party — those issues only come up if an opponent raises them through a specific denial backed by supporting facts. Fraud or mistake is different: the circumstances behind it must be stated with particularity, though a person’s state of mind, like malice, intent, or knowledge, can still be alleged generally.

Conditions precedent can be pled with a general allegation that they have all occurred or been performed, but a party denying that they occurred must be specific about which ones and why. Similarly, alleging that an official document or act was legally issued or done is enough on its own, and pleading a judgment does not require showing that the court or body that issued it had jurisdiction to do so.

Time and place allegations matter when a court tests whether a pleading is sufficient, and special damages must be spelled out specifically rather than left to inference. Libel and slander claims get their own shortcut: a general allegation that the defamatory statement concerned the plaintiff is enough unless the defendant disputes it, in which case the plaintiff must prove that connection at trial.