A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


Entries for tag: Declarations

It's got more of a Rufus from Bill & Ted vibe, but I think you get what I was going for
AI-Generated, displayed with permission

There is probably no more common desire than the ability to go back in time to correct one's mistakes. To use examples from the fascinating life of Jeff Goldblum, you could:

  • Decline that invitation to the trial run of a dinosaur themed amusement park
  • Check your laboratory for bugs before experimenting with teleportation, or alternatively, hire an assistant
  • Suggest someone else lead the pod people away so the group can escape. Ideally, this person would be a bit faster than you.

Most lawyers are bound by more mundane hopes. The job is riddled with tiny-seeming pitfalls with potentially disastrous consequences. Every time you fall into one, you wish you could just call a mulligan and fix …

Not this declaration
Not this declaration Engraving by William J. Stone

Declarations are commonplace in federal court litigation. They are submitted by attorneys, by experts, and by parties or their agents. Their purposes range from simply listing exhibits to establishing critical facts. But what language is required for an unsworn declaration? And are declarations always necessary in D. Del.?

Unsworn Declarations In General

The vast majority of declarations submitted in federal court litigation are actually "unsworn declarations" which, by statute, a litigant may submit in place of a sworn declaration or affidavit.

Don't Forget the Required Language

In particular, 28 U.S.C. § 1746 provides that ...