Judge orders rewrite of wordy lawsuit

TACOMA, Wash., July 4 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Tacoma, Wash., has sent a 465-page lawsuit back to the lawyer who authored it for a rewrite, telling him it's too long.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton told lawyer Dean Browning Webb to edit his racketeering lawsuit against GMAC Mortgage because he failed to balance federal civil rules that call for a "short and plain statement" of allegations as well as allegations stated "with particularity," The Seattle Times reported Friday.

The judge cited an 18-page section naming six defendants as consisting "largely of useless repetition" and said the first allegation in the suit isn't made until page 30. He said Webb "embarks on an odyssey through his claims for relief" that goes on for 341 pages.

However, Leighton pointed out that Webb "successfully states his allegations in two pages" in a court filing he made to oppose a motion filed by the opposition in the case.

The judge stated his order lyrically: "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."

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