Balder v. Sarandon

Background

Arthur Balder filed an amended complaint on August 2, 2022. The complaint exceeded 175 pages and included more than 70 additional pages of exhibits.

Court’s analysis

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to contain a short and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. The court explained that a complaint must include enough factual detail to make the claim plausible, but it should not be overly lengthy, confusing, or filled with unnecessary details.

The court found that Balder’s amended complaint did not provide the required short and plain statement. It said the complaint’s length and confusing presentation placed an unjustified burden on the court and defendants, who would have to identify the relevant material from the large amount of text.

Ruling

The court struck Balder’s amended complaint. It granted him leave to file a new amended complaint by September 16, 2022. The court directed him to provide a short and plain statement of the relevant facts supporting each claim against each defendant; identify relevant people and their titles; describe what each defendant did or failed to do, when and generally where the events occurred; describe his injuries; and state the relief he seeks. The court also said he should provide addresses for named defendants if he had them, avoid repetition and unnecessary detail, and not submit evidence or proof as part of the complaint. The opinion did not decide whether Balder’s underlying claims were legally valid.