Commercial Division Rule 6 Amended to Require Answer to Interlineate Each Allegation To Which It Responds

On August 17, 2022, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks signed an administrative order amending Rule 6 of the Commercial Division Rules to require that a responsive pleading "interlineate each allegation of the pleading to which it is responding with the party's response to that allegation." The full text of the amended rule, which becomes effective on September 12, 2022, is below:

(d) Interlineation of Responsive Pleadings

(1) For every responsive pleading, the party preparing the responsive pleading shall interlineate each allegation of the pleading to which it is responding with the party's response to that allegation, and in doing so, shall preserve the content and numbering of the allegation.

(2) The party who prepared a pleading to which a responsive pleading is required shall, upon request, promptly provide a copy of its pleading in the same word processing software application in which the pleading was prepared to the party preparing the responsive pleading.

Over the last year, the Commercial Division Rules have been repeatedly modernized and to enhance efficiency of practice in the Commercial Division. This amended rule is yet another example of this. Contact the Commercial Division Blog Committee at commercialdivisionblog@schlamstone.com if you or a client have questions about this amended rule.