Rule 1:4.General Provisions as to Pleadings.

Rule 1:4 sets the ground rules that apply to every pleading filed in a Virginia court. Tendering a pleading is itself an assurance from counsel, as an officer of the court, that it is filed in good faith and not to cause delay. A sworn pleading works as an affidavit wherever an affidavit is required or allowed, and counsel or an unrepresented party who files a pleading must sign it and give an address. Every pleading must lay out the facts a party relies on in numbered paragraphs, clearly enough to inform the other side of the true nature of the claim or defense — brevity, the rule says, is the mark of good pleading.

The rule also governs how parties respond to each other’s allegations. An allegation not denied in a required responsive pleading is deemed admitted; a denial must address the substance of what was alleged, a party who means to deny only part of an allegation must admit the part that is true, and pleading that a party does not know whether a fact exists counts as a denial of that fact. The same pleading requirements that apply to instruments not under seal apply to instruments under seal, and the same requirements that apply to legal defenses apply to equitable ones.

Procedurally, the clerk must note and attest the filing date on every pleading, subject to Rule 1:17’s procedures in an Electronically Filed Case. Mentioning an accompanying exhibit in a pleading makes the exhibit part of the pleading, with filing governed by Rule 3:4. A party may plead alternative facts and theories against alternative parties as long as the claims arise from the same transaction or occurrence, and may plead as many separate claims or defenses as the party has, regardless of consistency. Finally, every pleading, motion, or other paper must carry, at the foot, the filing counsel’s Virginia State Bar number, office address, and telephone number, along with any email address and fax number regularly used for business.