Another Civil Procedure limerick

I’ve written previously about judges using limericks in their opinions.  Here’s another.  The ABA Journal notes that U.S. District Judge Ronald B. Leighton found a plaintiff’s 465-page complaint to violate Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)‘s requirement that a complaint contain “a short and plain statement” of the plaintiff’s claim.  Noting Lord Polonius’ line in Hamlet that brevity is the soul of wit,” Judge Leighton stated that “[b]revity is also the soul of a pleading.”  He concluded with a limerick:

Plaintiff has a great deal to say,
But it seems he skipped Rule 8(a),
His Complaint is too long,
Which renders it wrong,
Please re-write and re-file today.

Hat tip to my St. Thomas colleague Fred Light for sending this to me.

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