Pennsylvania Code
Title 231 - RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
Part I - GENERAL
Chapter 1700 - CLASS ACTIONS
Appendix A - ANALYSIS OF THE RULES
Rule 1704 - Form of the Complaint
Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 38, September 21, 2024
Rule 1704 includes novelties in the form of complaint. Although the general pleading rule of the form of action in which relief is sought will apply, there are three special requirements.
(1) The caption must include the designation "Class Action".
(2) The complaint must set forth under a separate heading styled "Class Action Allegations" the averments of fact necessary to support the prerequisites of a class action as set forth in Rule 1702 and the implementing criteria specified in Rules 1708 and 1709.
(3) The plaintiff may join in the complaint claims for equitable, declaratory and monetary relief arising out of the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences. This is broader than Pa. R.C.P. 1020(d) which at present permits only joinder of assumpsit and trespass arising out of the same transaction or occurrence.
The requirement of the "class action allegations" is fundamental. It impels the plaintiff to plead in detail all the facts which will support his right to this special remedy. It segregates these from the rest of the complaint and from the substantive averments of the plaintiff's cause of action. Most important of all, it permits the application of Rules 1705 and 1706, which exclude the use of preliminary objections to raise issues of fact with respect to the class action allegations, and requires such issues to be raised in the answer. Hopefully, this will reduce dilatory proceedings during the pleading stage.
