what are the specific complaints/what the specific complaints are

Since it's a quote, the correct one is whatever the person speaking actually said, even if what he said wasn't grammatically correct or wasn't said gracefully.

That being said, you could probably get by with either of them. The second one, tho, sounds better to me. There should als9o be a quotation mark at the start of the sentence.

Thanks, MontereyJack.

I missed typing the first quote marks. Thanks for pointing that out. I think I will stick to the second version, as that is what I was taught.

I posted the question as I wanted to know how a native speaker would phrase the question. The Senior Counsel who made that statement, is not a native speaker.

Many thanks.

And "meritorious" in usual usage means something like out-of-the-ordinarily-worthy. A fireman who saves a child from a burning building at great risk to himself may be cited for "meritorious service". But we're talking here only about a legal case and whether or not a claim may be valid, it's not something extraordinary, and that's "merited". In fact, my dictionary defines 'merit' as "b: legal significance, standing, or importance." So I think it should be "unmerited" rather than "unmeritorious".

Thanks, MontereyJack

Being non-native, even our lawyers do not write precisely.

its all rubbish, if the claim has not been lodged how can it be unmeritorious

you continue to pose ridiculously circumlocutory questions

the plaintiffs' complaints are unclear because the yada yada yada

which is more correct the yolk of the egg is white or the yolk of the egg are white

In the normal neutral situation, Tan, ENLs don't use S-V inversion, which marks a question form, when there is no question. However, it is not ungrammatical to use such a form, ie. that found in 1.

If a speaker wants to be bit more emphatic, then the speaker might choose to keep the S-V inversion.

You note that the speaker is not a native speaker, so that persons choice of words might reflect that or it might reflect a choice that you were not aware existed in English.

The word "merit" can have a particular specific legal meaning - in court, if a claim is said by a judge to have or bear merit, that simply means that it is valid. If it is said to be without merit, then it is not. The word does not imply anything to do with praiseworthiness or admirability. In the English courts, one would hear "without merit" rather than "unmeritorious".