Drafting A Pleading: Identifying The Parties

In the "Parties" section of the complaint, you should identify each party's legal name, any known aliases, and their residences (just the county, not the actual address).  For a New York corporation, you can check their official name and address in the Department of State's online database.  Many other states have similar databases.

This section has several practical implications.  First, in New York, venue (i.e. what courthouse you go to) is usually based upon the residence of either of the parties.  If the venue is inconvenient for the defendant, the court may consider a transfer or dismissal based on "forum non-conveniens." Thus, if the defendant has a connection to the venue, this is an appropriate section to include allegations such as that the defendant "resides in," "maintains its principal office in," or "regularly conducts business in" a particular county.

Second, if your case is a business dispute, the type of business entity makes a difference. There are different rules governing the procedures for internal disputes between owners, and the owners' individual liability to third parties, depending on what type of business entity is involved (i.e., corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, professional corporations, etc.).

Third, sometimes a party can be misnamed or listed as John/Jane Doe. Misnaming sometimes happens, for example, when dealing with corporate subsidiaries. There are also a variery of situations where a John Doe defendant is appropriate, although in my experience the designation is over used.

If there's enough information in the complaint describing the proper defendant, even if there was a mistake in the name, it can make a correction go more smoothly.  If the defendant had notice that it was the entity that should have been named, a later correction may "relate back" to the original pleading date, thereby avoiding statute of limitation problems.


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