Listing a Demand for Jury Trial in Pleading Titles

The rules for many federal and state courts require that a party demanding a jury trial indicate this demand in the title of their pleading.

See for example the Local Rules of Practice in Civil Proceedings before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which state that:

"When a demand for jury trial is included in a pleading, the demand must be set forth at the end of the pleading. When the demand is made by a party who is represented by counsel, the pleading must be signed by the attorney for the party making the demand. In the caption of such pleading, immediately following the title of the pleading, the following must appear: 'DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL.'" N.D. Cal. Civil L.R. 3-6(a).

The Local Rules of United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida state that:

"(c) Demand for Jury Trial. If demand for jury trial is contained within a pleading, the title of the pleading shall include the words 'Demand for Jury Trial' or the equivalent." Bankr. M.D. Fla. Local Rule 9004-1.

The Local Rules of Civil Practice and Procedure of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware state that:

"If a party demands a jury trial by endorsing it on a pleading, as permitted by Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b) , a notation shall be placed in the caption of the pleading stating 'Demand For Jury Trial' or the equivalent. This notation will serve as a sufficient demand under Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b)." D. Del. LR 38.1

Note that the courts' local rules specify how they should be cited to, and the form of citation varies.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 38(b) requires that a jury demand be made in writing no later than 14 days after the last pleading directed to the issue is served, and states that this demand may be included in the pleading itself.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has posted Instructions for Filing a Complaint which reference a form complaint and state that:

"You should indicate on the first page of the complaint whether you want a jury trial by checking either 'yes' or 'no' in the top right corner of the first page of the complaint."

The Michigan Court Rules of 1985 state that:

"A party may include the demand in a pleading if notice of the demand is included in the caption of the pleading." MCR Rule 2.508.