5 New York Civil Practice: CPLR P 3013.00

Summary

CPLR 3013 addresses particularity of pleadings, and provides that statements in pleadings shall be “sufficiently particular” to give notice of the “transactions” and “occurrences” intended to be proved and the “material elements of each cause of action or defense.”

CPLR 3013 is a simple provision, but the context for that provision and the body of related case law are anything but simple. Although CPLR 3013 appears to stand for notice pleading, the case law suggests that New York practice differs from federal practice in the extent of notice required, and that the pleading in New York must not only give sufficient notice of the underlying facts to state a cause of action, but also must articulate each element of each cause of action to survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under CPLR 3211(a)(7). Thus, the careful pleader will still set forth the underlying facts sufficiently to avoid any argument that the pleading does not give sufficient notice of the underlying ...