Notice to Plead Law and Legal Definition
Notice to plead is a notice given by the plaintiff warning the defendant to file a responsive pleading within a prescribed period. Notice to plead is required by the federal courts and most of the state courts. Such notice is considered as prerequisite in a judgment by default. Notice to plead is usually attached to summons.
A notice to plead shall be directed to the adverse party and shall be in a specific form provided by each state law. For example, Pa. R.C.P. No. 1361 provides the form of notice to plead in the state of Pennsylvania. “An action at law may be commenced simply by the filing in court and service on defendant of the declaration indorsed with notice to plead as such action is in the nature of process to bring the defendant into court”. [Yeager v. Mellus, 328 Mich. 243 (Mich. 1950)]