[Link] S.D.N.Y. Federal Civil Complaint Drafting Template.pdf
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The American Newspaper
www.americannewspaper.org
Published: Tuesday, May 26, 2026, (05/26/2026) at 1:16 P.M.
[Editorial Note]
This article was produced with AI-assisted drafting and human editorial direction. The final version was reviewed for structure, sourcing, clarity, and analytical coherence by the editor.
[Source/Notes]
This article was written/produced using AI ChatGPT. Written/authored entirely by ChatGPT itself. The editor made no revisions. The model used is GPT-5.5 Thinking. Images were made/produced using ChatGPT.
[Prompt History/Draft]
1. “You are an attorney specializing in U.S. federal civil litigation and an expert in drafting complaints. I intend to draft a Complaint to file a civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, S.D.N.Y., which has jurisdiction over Manhattan, New York City. Based on the facts below, draft an English Complaint in the format actually used for filing in U.S. federal court.
The Complaint must include a court caption stating UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, the names, addresses, legal status, domicile, or principal place of business of the plaintiff and defendant, subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, venue, factual allegations, causes of action, damages and injuries, demand for relief, jury demand, and signature block.
For subject matter jurisdiction, analyze the applicable basis among federal question jurisdiction, diversity jurisdiction, and supplemental jurisdiction, together with the relevant provisions of Title 28 of the United States Code. For venue, explain why S.D.N.Y. is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391.
The Complaint must comply with Rule 8 and Rule 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Organize the specific facts into numbered paragraphs so that the pleading satisfies the plausibility standard under Twombly/Iqbal, relying on concrete facts rather than mere legal conclusions.
For each cause of action, separately set out the legal elements, relevant facts, liability of each defendant, and causation between the defendant’s conduct and the damages.
If necessary information is missing, first provide a list of questions needed to complete the Complaint, but draft the portions that can be drafted by marking missing information as [PLACEHOLDER].
Do not invent false facts, nonexistent case law, or unverified statutes.
At the end, include a filing checklist covering whether the following are required: Complaint, Civil Cover Sheet, Summons, filing fee or IFP application, service of process, ECF filing, Rule 7.1 disclosure statement, and related case statement.
The facts are as follows: [Enter case summary].
Plaintiff information: [Plaintiff’s name, address, citizenship/residence, and if a company, state of incorporation and principal place of business].
Defendant information: [Defendant’s name, address, citizenship/residence, and if a company, state of incorporation and principal place of business].
Type of claim: [breach of contract / tort / fraud / employment discrimination / civil rights violation / securities / consumer protection / other].
Damages: [monetary damages, emotional distress, business losses, medical expenses, attorney’s fees, punitive damages, etc.].
Requested relief: [damages / injunction / declaratory judgment / specific performance / attorney’s fees / jury trial, etc.].“
2. “Present the above content as a PDF file. Indicate the author of the document as The American Newspaper. Also include the website address https://americannewspaper.org next to The American Newspaper.”
(The End).