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How Will The Other Side Respond To My Lawsuit?

A: A defendant must file a pleading in response to the Complaint. There are several defensive pleadings, but the most common is the Answer. An Answer must admit, deny, or state that the defendant is without sufficient information to respond to the various allegations in the Complaint.

Additionally, the Answer must set forth affirmative defenses asserted by the defendant. While a plaintiff bears the burden of proving the various elements of his or her case, the defendant bears the burden of proving his or her affirmative defenses.

There are several affirmative defenses, such as contributory negligence, assumption of the risk, failure to mitigate, and failure to file the lawsuit within the statute of limitations.

The most common affirmative defense in a negligence action is the defense of contributory negligence. This defense asserts that the plaintiff failed to act as a reasonable person would have acted for his or her safety under the circumstances of the case. If a jury finds the plaintiff contributorily negligent, then the plaintiff is barred from recovering.

A Demurrer is another type of responsive pleading which seeks to have the plaintiff’s Complaint dismissed. A Demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the Complaint and, in essence, contends that the Complaint fails to statute a legal claim upon which the relief requested can be granted.