A. CAPACITY. It is not necessary to aver the capacity of a party to sue or be sued or the authority of a party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity or the legal existence of an organized association of persons that is made a party. When a party desires to raise an issue as to the legal existence of any party or the capacity of any party to sue or be sued or the authority of a party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity, he shall do so by negative averment, which shall include such supporting particulars as are peculiarly within the pleader's knowledge, and he shall have the burden of proof on that issue.
§ 2009.Pleading Special Matters
Chapter 39: Oklahoma Pleading Code · Last amended September 10, 2013 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 2009 sets pleading rules for specific situations: fraud and mistake must be pleaded with particularity while state of mind can be alleged generally, conditions precedent can be pleaded as having generally occurred, and special or punitive damages must be identified without a dollar figure once diversity jurisdiction is implicated.
Full Text of § 2009
B. FRAUD, MISTAKE, CONDITION OF THE MIND. In all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity. Malice, intent, knowledge, and other condition of mind of a person may be averred generally.
C. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT. In pleading the performance or occurrence of conditions precedent, it is sufficient to aver generally that all conditions precedent have been performed or have occurred. A denial of performance or occurrence shall be made specifically and with particularity.
D. OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OR ACT. In pleading an official document or official act it is sufficient to aver that the document was issued or the act done in compliance with law.
E. JUDGMENT. In pleading a judgment or decision of a domestic or foreign court, judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or of a board or officer, it is sufficient to aver the judgment or decision without setting forth matter showing jurisdiction to render it.
F. TIME AND PLACE. For the purpose of testing the sufficiency of a pleading, averments of time and place are material and shall be considered like all other averments of material matter.
G. SPECIAL DAMAGE. When items of special damage are claimed, their nature shall be specifically stated. In actions where exemplary or punitive damages are sought, the petition shall not state a dollar amount for damages sought to be recovered but shall state whether the amount of damages sought to be recovered is in excess of or not in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code.
H. MOTION TO CLARIFY DAMAGES. If the amount of damages sought to be recovered by the plaintiff is less than the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code, the defendant may file, for purposes of establishing diversity jurisdiction only, a Motion to Clarify Damages prior to the pretrial order to require the plaintiff to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the amount of damages, if awarded, will not exceed the amount required for diversity. If the court finds that any damages awarded are more likely than not to exceed the amount of damages required for diversity jurisdiction, the plaintiff shall amend his or her pleadings in conformance with paragraph 2 of subsection A of Section 2008 of this title.
Amendment History
Amended by Laws 2013, c. 9 s. 5, eff. 9/10/2013. Added by Laws 1984, SB 417, c. 164, § 9, eff. 11/1/1984; Amended by Laws 1987, SB 183, c. 78, §3, eff. 11/1/1987; Amended by Laws 2009, HB 1603, c. 228, §13, eff. 11/1/2009.
Note
Laws 2009, c. 228, § 13 was held unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of Douglas v. Cox Retirement Properties, Inc., 2013 OK 37, 302 P.2d 789 (Okla. 2013) and repealed by Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 9, § 1, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.
Plain-English Summary
Where Section 2008 sets the general pleading standard, this section handles exceptions for particular kinds of allegations. A party doesn't need to plead a person's or entity's legal capacity or authority to sue or be sued; challenging capacity requires an affirmative "negative averment" with supporting particulars, and the challenger bears the burden of proof. Fraud or mistake must be pleaded with particularity about the circumstances, though malice, intent, knowledge, and other mental states can be alleged generally. Conditions precedent can be pleaded by a general averment that all of them occurred; denying that requires specificity.
Pleading an official document, act, or a court's judgment doesn't require showing the underlying jurisdiction or authority; it's enough to allege compliance with law or state the judgment itself. Time and place, though sometimes treated as throwaway details, are material averments for testing a pleading's sufficiency. Special damages must be specifically stated, and, echoing Section 2008, a claim for exemplary or punitive damages can't state a dollar figure, only whether the amount sought is above or below the federal diversity-jurisdiction threshold. Subsection H lets a defendant, before the pretrial order, file a motion to clarify damages forcing the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that any award won't exceed that threshold, useful only for pinning down diversity jurisdiction; if the court finds damages likely to exceed it, the plaintiff must amend the pleading accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a fraud claim need to spell out exactly how the fraud happened?
Yes -- subsection B requires the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake to be stated with particularity, though the defendant's state of mind, such as intent or knowledge, can be alleged generally.
Do you have to plead every fact showing a condition precedent was satisfied?
No -- subsection C lets a pleader aver generally that all conditions precedent occurred; a denial of that, however, must be specific.
Can a petition ask for a specific dollar amount of punitive damages?
No -- subsection G requires the petition to state only whether punitive damages sought are above or below the federal diversity-jurisdiction amount, not a dollar figure.
What's a "motion to clarify damages" for?
Under subsection H, it lets a defendant force the plaintiff to show, before the pretrial order, that damages sought won't exceed the diversity-jurisdiction threshold, solely to test whether the case belongs in federal court.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oklahoma pleading special matters12 O.S. § 2009pleading fraud with particularity oklahomapunitive damages pleading oklahoma