TITLE THREE — PLEADINGS AND MOTIONS
Rule 7. Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions
Pleadings. Only the following pleadings are allowed:
a complaint;
an answer to a complaint;
a reply to a counterclaim denominated as such;
an answer to a cross-claim, if the answer contains a cross-claim;
a third-party complaint, if a person who was not an original party is summoned;
a third-party answer, if a third-party complaint is served; and
a reply to an answer, if the court orders one.
No other paper is a pleading. A paper that is not a pleading does not close the pleadings, does not require a responsive pleading, and does not admit or deny anything by silence.
Motions and Other Papers.
An application to the court for an order shall be by motion which, unless made during a hearing or trial, shall be made in writing, shall state with particularity the grounds therefor, and shall set forth the relief or order sought.
The rules applicable to captions, signing, and other matters of form of pleadings apply to all motions and other papers provided for by these rules.
A motion made during a hearing or trial may be made orally in the proceeding communications of the case. The court may direct that an oral motion be reduced to writing and filed, and may rule upon it before it is so reduced.
Other papers permitted by these rules include a memorandum or brief, a notice, a stipulation, an offer of judgment, a designation of the record, an affidavit, a proof of service, a proposed order, and an exhibit or item of documentary evidence offered in support of a pleading or motion.
Proposed Orders. A party may transmit a proposed order with a motion, as a separate document within the same filing. A proposed order is a paper of the party who transmits it and has no effect until the court enters an order. An order, judgment, ruling, or decree of the court is entered by the judge through the judicial channel of the electronic filing system and never by a party’s filing.
Correspondence. A letter, message, or other communication addressed to the judge or to the clerk is not a motion, is not a pleading, and shall not be considered by the court as a request for relief. A request for relief shall be made by motion under this rule or, where the rule so allows, orally in the proceeding communications of the case.
Designation Controls Over Label. The character of a paper is determined by its substance and by the filing code under which it is transmitted, and not by the title its author gives it. Where a paper is misdesignated, the court may treat it as though it were correctly designated, and may impose terms for doing so.