Rule 5.070.Motion for Leave to Amend Pleading
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 5.070
Plain-English Summary
A motion for leave to amend cannot rest on a description of the changes. UTCR 5.070 requires the motion to attach, as an exhibit, the entire text of the proposed amended pleading. The court sees the finished document it is being asked to allow rather than a summary of the edits. The rule says the same for a motion to amend in order to assert a claim for punitive damages.
The attached text has to show its changes. One method is manual marking: material to be added is underlined and in bold with braces at each end, and material to be deleted is italicized with brackets at each end. The other is to let the software do the work and display the proposed changes with a word processor's redlining feature. Either satisfies the rule.
Preprinted forms get their own method, because a fill-in-the-blank layout resists redlining. A party amending a pleading composed on a completed form may copy the filed pleading and mark the copy: additions interlineated and underlined with braces at each end, deletions bracketed at each end.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to attach the whole amended pleading, or just the changes?
The whole thing. The rule requires the entire text of the proposed amended pleading as an exhibit to the motion, with the changes displayed inside it. Attaching only the altered paragraphs does not comply.
How do I mark additions and deletions?
Material to be added is underlined and in bold with braces at each end. Material to be deleted is italicized with brackets at each end. That is the manual method; the rule also allows a word processor's redlining feature instead.
Can I use my word processor's track changes feature?
Yes. The rule accepts proposed changes shown using a word processing software's redlining feature as an alternative to the braces and brackets convention. Whichever you choose, the exhibit still has to contain the entire proposed pleading.
What if the pleading was written on a fill-in-the-blank court form?
The rule provides a separate method. Copy the filed pleading and format the copy so that added material is interlineated and underlined with braces at each end, and deleted material has brackets at each end. That substitutes for retyping a form pleading with full redlining.
Does this rule apply when I am adding a punitive damages claim?
Yes. The rule names a motion to amend to assert a claim for punitive damages as an example of what it covers, so the proposed amended pleading has to be attached and marked the same way as any other.