Rule 10.Form of pleadings

Rule 10(a) requires every pleading to carry a caption with the name of the court, the title of the action, the file number, and a designation under Rule 7(a). The complaint's title must include the names of all parties, subject to the pseudonym provision in Rule 10(e); later pleadings only need to name the first party on each side, with an indication that others are involved.

Rule 10(b) requires every averment of claim or defense to appear in numbered paragraphs, each limited so far as practicable to a single set of circumstances, so a paragraph can be referred to by number in later pleadings. Each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence, and each defense other than a denial, should get its own count or defense whenever separating them makes the pleading clearer. Rule 10(c) lets a party adopt statements by reference elsewhere in the same pleading, in another pleading, or in a motion, and a copy of any written instrument attached as an exhibit becomes part of the pleading for all purposes.

Rule 10(d) requires pleadings and other papers to be plainly written or printed and backed; if a paper is materially defaced by erasures or interlineations, the Prothonotary can't accept it without a judge's order. Rule 10(e) adds a modern safeguard: no complaint may be filed under a pseudonym without prior court approval, or unless it's accompanied by a motion seeking that approval. The motion or petition needs an affidavit stating specific facts explaining why the party's anonymity is necessary and facts sufficient to overcome the presumption of public access to litigants' identities, and it may be filed under seal.