Cal. Codes » Code of Civil Procedure / PART 2. OF CIVIL ACTIONS / TITLE 6. OF THE PLEADINGS IN CIVIL ACTIONS / CHAPTER 3. Objections to Pleadings; Denials and Defenses / ARTICLE 2. Denials and Defenses
California Codes

Cal. Code of Civil Procedure § 431.20 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)Every material allegation of the complaint or cross-complaint, not controverted by the answer, shall, for the purposes of the action, be taken as true.

(b)The statement of any new matter in the answer, in avoidance or constituting a defense, shall, on the trial, be deemed controverted by the opposite party.