Rule 9.Pleading special matters

Part III: Pleadings, Motions, and Orders · Last amended November 1, 2016 · Last verified July 13, 2026

In one sentenceRule 9 sets special, more exacting pleading rules for a handful of situations — fraud, unknown defendants, conditions precedent, judgments, defamation, and allocating fault to a nonparty — where a short, plain statement under Rule 8 isn't enough.

Full Text of Rule 9

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) (k) (l)

(a) Capacity or Authority to Sue; Legal Existence.

(1) In General. Except when required to show that the court has jurisdiction, a pleading need not allege:

(A) a party’s capacity to sue or be sued;

(B) a party’s authority to sue or be sued in a representative capacity; or

(2) Raising Those Issues. To raise any of those issues, a party must do so by a specific denial, which must state any supporting facts that are peculiarly within the party’s knowledge.

(b) Unknown parties.

(1) Designation. When a party does not know the name of an opposing party, it may state that fact in the pleadings, and designate the opposing party in a pleading by any name. When the true name of the opposing party becomes known, the pleading must be amended.

(2) Descriptions of interest in quiet title actions. If one or more parties in an action to quiet title are designated in the caption as “unknown,” the pleadings may describe the unknown persons as “all other persons unknown, claiming any right, title, estate or interest in, or lien upon the real property described in the pleading adverse to the complainant’s ownership, or clouding its title.”

(c) Fraud, mistake, condition of the mind. In alleging fraud or mistake, a party must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake. Malice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of a person’s mind may be alleged generally.

(d) Conditions precedent. In pleading conditions precedent, it is sufficient to allege generally that all conditions precedent have been performed or have occurred. When denying that a condition precedent has been performed or has occurred, a party must do so with particularity.

(e) Official document or act. In pleading an official document or official act it is sufficient to allege that the document was legally issued or the act was legally done.

(f) Judgment. In pleading a judgment or decision of a domestic or foreign court, a judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or a board or officer, it is sufficient to plead the judgment or decision without showing jurisdiction to render it.

(g) Time and place. An allegation of time or place is material when testing the sufficiency of a pleading.

(h) Special damage. If an item of special damage is claimed, it must be specifically stated.

(i) Statute of limitations. In pleading the statute of limitations it is not necessary to state the facts showing the defense but it may be alleged generally that the cause of action is barred by the statute, referring to or describing the statute by section number, subsection designation, if any, or designating the provision relied on sufficiently to identify it.

(j) Private statutes; ordinances. In pleading a private statute, an ordinance, or a right derived from a statute or ordinance, it is sufficient to refer to the statute or ordinance by its title and the day of its passage or by its section number or other designation in any official publication of the statute or ordinance. The court will take judicial notice of the statute or ordinance.

(k) Libel and slander.

(1) Pleading defamatory matter. In an action for libel or slander it is sufficient to allege generally that the defamatory matter out of which the action arose was published or spoken concerning the plaintiff. If the allegation is denied, the party alleging the defamatory matter must establish at trial that it was published or spoken.

(2) Pleading defense. The defendant may allege the truth of the matter charged as defamatory and any mitigating circumstances to reduce the amount of damages. Whether or not justification is proved, the defendant may give evidence of the mitigating circumstances.

(l) Allocation of fault.

(1) A party seeking to allocate fault to a non-party under Title 78B, Chapter 5, Part 8 must file:

(A) a description of the factual and legal basis on which fault can be allocated; and

(B) information known or reasonably available to the party identifying the non-party, including name, address, telephone number and employer. If the identity of the non-party is unknown, the party must so state.

(2) The information specified in paragraph (l)(1) must be included in the party’s responsive pleading if then known or must be included in a supplemental notice filed within a reasonable time after the party discovers the factual and legal basis on which fault can be allocated. The court, upon motion and for good cause shown, may permit a party to file the information specified in paragraph (l)(1) after the expiration of any period permitted by this rule, but in no event later than 90 days before trial.

(3) A party must not seek to allocate fault to another except by compliance with this rule.

End

Amendment History

Amended effective November 1, 2003; May 2, 2005; November 1, 2008; November 1, 2011; November 1, 2016.

Advisory Committee Notes

The 2016 amendments deleted former paragraph (k) on renewing judgments because it was superfluous. The Renewal of Judgment Act (Utah Code Sections 78B-6-1801 through 78B-6-1804) allows a domestic judgment to be renewed by motion, and Section 78B 5 302 governs domesticating a foreign judgment, which can then be renewed by motion.

The process for renewing a judgment by motion is governed by Rule 58C.

Issues of capacity, conditions precedent, and statutes of limitation in paragraphs (a), (e), and (j) should be decided along with other claims and defenses.

Plain-English Summary

Most claims only need Rule 8's short and plain statement. Rule 9 carves out exceptions, in both directions — some things need less detail than you'd expect, others need more.

On the "less" side: a party generally doesn't have to allege that it has the capacity or authority to sue, or that an organization is a legal entity, unless that goes to the court's jurisdiction. Anyone who wants to challenge capacity has to raise it by a specific denial backed by supporting facts. Pleading a prior judgment doesn't require showing the rendering court had jurisdiction. Conditions precedent can be alleged generally as having occurred. Official documents and acts can be alleged as having been "legally issued" or "legally done" without more. A statute of limitations defense can be pleaded generally, just by identifying the statute. Pleading a private statute or ordinance only requires citing its title and date or section number — the court takes judicial notice of it. And a defamation claim can generally allege that the defamatory material was published or spoken about the plaintiff, without spelling out every detail up front.

On the "more" side: fraud and mistake claims must be pleaded with particularity — the circumstances themselves have to be laid out, though a person's malice, intent, or knowledge can still be alleged generally. A denial that a condition precedent occurred must be made with particularity, not just a general denial. Special damages — the kind that don't automatically flow from the wrong alleged — must be specifically stated, not assumed.

Two more mechanics round out the rule. When a party doesn't know an opposing party's real name, it can plead against that party under any name and amend later once the true name is known; quiet title actions have their own convention for describing unknown claimants. And a party who wants to allocate fault to someone who isn't a party to the case has to file a description of the factual and legal basis for that allocation, along with what's known about the nonparty's identity — in the responsive pleading if the basis is already known, or in a supplemental notice within a reasonable time after discovering it, but never later than 90 days before trial absent a court order for good cause.

Frequently Asked Questions

How specific do I have to be when pleading fraud?

Fraud and mistake must be pleaded with particularity — you have to state the actual circumstances that constitute the fraud or mistake, not just allege it happened. A person's state of mind, like malice, intent, or knowledge, can still be alleged generally.

What if I don't know the name of the person I'm suing?

You can designate that party by any name in the pleading and state that you don't know their true name. Once you learn the real name, you have to amend the pleading. Quiet title actions have their own standard language for describing unknown claimants to a property interest.

Do I have to prove the other court had jurisdiction when pleading a prior judgment?

No. Rule 9(f) lets you plead a judgment or decision from another court or tribunal without showing that court had jurisdiction to enter it.

How do I allocate fault to someone who isn't a party to my case?

You have to file a description of the factual and legal basis for allocating fault to the nonparty, along with identifying information you have or can reasonably get. This goes in your responsive pleading if you already know the basis, or in a supplemental notice within a reasonable time after you learn it — but no later than 90 days before trial without a court order.

Do I need to state facts to plead a statute of limitations defense?

No. You can generally allege that the claim is barred by the statute of limitations, as long as you identify the statute by section number or otherwise describe it well enough to identify which provision applies.

Source & verification. Rule text, Advisory Committee Notes, and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Utah Supreme Court. Last verified July 13, 2026. · Official source

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