Cumulative Omissions #12
Definition
Strategy technique
Multiple instances of Uncharacterized Omission presented across different arguments, building an unnamed pattern. Each omission is stated separately with its own legal hook. The pattern is never named by the drafter — the reader identifies it.
Example
A point heading with several numbered non-disclosures (notice of appearance, response to a document demand, answers to interrogatories, a privilege log, a contradictory representation), each with its own legal basis, stated separately.
Anti-pattern
"Defendant has engaged in a clear and systematic pattern of concealment, as evidenced by the following failures..."
Requirements
- Three or more separate absences
- Each absence has an independent legal basis
- The absences are distributed across the motion (not clustered in one paragraph)
- The pattern is never explicitly named as "a pattern" by the drafter
Note on naming
The technique's power comes from the pattern being unnamed. The moment the drafter writes "pattern of concealment" or "systematic non-compliance," the judge has something to disagree with — the characterization. When the drafter simply lists the absences, the judge names the pattern. And the judge's name for it will be harsher than anything the drafter would write.