Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 9 sets special pleading requirements for particular kinds of allegations -- capacity to sue, fraud or mistake, conditions precedent, official acts, prior judgments, special damages, and eminent domain -- that don't fit the general rules in Rule 8.
(1)Except when required to show that the court has jurisdiction, a pleading need not allege:
(A)a party's capacity to sue or be sued;
(B)a party's authority to sue or be sued in a representative capacity; or
(C)the legal existence of an organized association of persons that is made a party.
(2)To raise any of the issues in 9(a)(1), a party shall do so by a specific denial, which shall state any supporting facts that are peculiarly within the party's knowledge.
(b)Fraud or mistake; Conditions of Mind. In alleging fraud or mistake, a party shall state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake. Malice, intent, knowledge and other conditions of a person's mind may be alleged generally.
(c)Conditions precedent. In pleading conditions precedent, it suffices to allege generally that all conditions precedent have occurred or been performed. But when denying that a condition precedent has occurred or been performed, a party shall do so with particularity.
(d)Official document or act. In pleading an official document or official act, it suffices to allege that the document was legally issued or the act legally done.
(e)Judgment. In pleading a judgment or decision of a domestic or foreign court, a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or a board or officer, it suffices to plead the judgment or decision without showing jurisdiction to render it.
(f)Time and place. An allegation of time or place is material when testing the sufficiency of a pleading.
(g)Special damages. If an item of special damage is claimed, it shall be specifically stated.
(h)Eminent domain. In proceedings to condemn real or personal property pursuant to Rule 71a, pleadings shall state with particularity: (1) A description of the property; and (2) the purpose for which the property is to be used. Further, if the proceeding is brought by a public utility, a copy of its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity shall be attached as an exhibit to the complaint as a condition of maintaining the eminent domain action.
Amendment History
The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Most allegations follow Rule 8's short-and-plain-statement standard, but a handful of situations call for something different, and Rule 9 spells out the exceptions. A party generally doesn't need to plead its own capacity to sue, its authority to sue in a representative capacity, or another party's legal existence — unless someone challenges it, in which case that challenge has to be a specific denial with supporting facts.
Fraud or mistake is the opposite: it demands more detail, not less. A party alleging fraud or mistake has to state the circumstances with particularity, though a person's state of mind — malice, intent, knowledge — can still be alleged generally. Conditions precedent work like the capacity rule: a party can allege they occurred without elaborating, but a party denying that a condition precedent occurred has to say so with particularity.
Official documents and acts, and prior judgments from other courts or tribunals, can be pleaded by alleging they were properly issued or entered, without more, without pleading the underlying jurisdiction. Special damages — damages that don't naturally flow from the wrong alleged — must be specifically stated, and time or place allegations become material whenever they're used to test whether a pleading is sufficient.
Rule 9 also has a distinctly West Virginia provision: eminent domain proceedings must describe the property and state the purpose it will be used for, and if a public utility brings the action, it must attach a copy of its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to the complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to plead that I have the legal capacity to sue?
No, not unless the court's jurisdiction depends on it. If someone wants to challenge your capacity, authority, or another party's legal existence, they have to do it through a specific denial with supporting facts.
How much detail does a fraud claim need?
More than an ordinary claim. Rule 9(b) requires the circumstances constituting the fraud or mistake to be stated with particularity, though the person's state of mind can be alleged generally.
What has to be attached to an eminent domain complaint?
If a public utility brings the condemnation action, a copy of its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity must be attached as an exhibit, and the complaint must describe the property and state the purpose for which it will be used.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 9). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:pleading fraud with particularityspecial damagesconditions precedenteminent domain pleadingcertificate of convenience and necessity