GENERAL RULES OF PLEADING

A. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF. A pleading which sets forth a claim for relief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim or third-party claim, shall contain:

1. A short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and

2. A demand for judgment for the relief to which he deems himself entitled. Every pleading demanding relief for damages in money in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code shall, without demanding any specific amount of money, set forth only that the amount sought as damages is in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code, except in actions sounding in contract. Every pleading demanding relief for damages in money in an amount that is required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code or less shall specify the amount of such damages sought to be recovered. Relief in the alternative or of several different types may be demanded.

B. DEFENSES; FORM OF DENIALS. A party shall state in short and plain terms his defenses to each claim asserted and shall admit or deny the averments upon which the adverse party relies. If he is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of an averment, he shall so state and this statement has the effect of a denial. Denials shall fairly meet the substance of the averments denied. When a pleader intends in good faith to deny only a part or a qualification of an averment, he shall specify so much of it as is true and material and shall deny only the remainder. Unless the pleader intends in good faith to controvert all the averments of the preceding pleading, he may make his denials as specific denials of designated averments or paragraphs or he may generally deny all the averments except such designated averments or paragraphs as he expressly admits; but, when he does so intend to controvert all its averments, he may do so by general denial subject to the obligations set forth in Section 2011 of this title.

C. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES. In pleading to a preceding pleading, a party shall set forth affirmatively:

1. Accord and satisfaction;

2. Arbitration and award;

3. Assumption of risk;

4. Contributory negligence;

5. Discharge in bankruptcy;

6. Duress;

7. Estoppel;

8. Failure of consideration;

9. Fraud;

10. Illegality;

11. Injury by fellow servant;

12. Laches;

13. License;

14. Payment;

15. Release;

16. Res judicata;

17. Statute of frauds;

18. Statute of limitations;

19. Waiver; and

20. Any other matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense.

When a party has mistakenly designated a defense as a counterclaim or a counterclaim as a defense, the court on terms, if justice so requires, shall treat the pleading as if there had been a proper designation.

D. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO DENY. Averments in a pleading to which a responsive pleading is required, other than those as to the amount of damage, are admitted when not denied in the responsive pleading. Averments in a pleading to which no responsive pleading is required or permitted shall be taken as denied or avoided.

E. PLEADING TO BE CONCISE AND DIRECT; CONSISTENCY.

1. Each averment of a pleading shall be simple, concise, and direct. No technical forms of pleadings or motions are required.

2. A party may set forth, and at trial rely on, two or more statements of a claim or defense alternately or hypothetically, either in one count or defense or in separate counts or defenses. When two or more statements are made in the alternative and one of them if made independently would be sufficient, the pleading is not made insufficient by the insufficiency of one or more of the alternative statements. A party may also state as many separate claims or defenses as he has regardless of consistency and whether based on legal or equitable grounds. All statements shall be made subject to the obligations set forth in Section 2011 of this title.

F. CONSTRUCTION OF PLEADINGS. All pleadings shall be so construed as to do substantial justice.

Added by Laws 1984, c. 164, § 8, eff. Nov. 1, 1984. Amended by Laws 1987, c. 78, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 1987; Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 9, § 2, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013; Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 9, § 3, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.

NOTE: Laws 2009, c. 228, § 12 was held unconstitutional by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in the case of Douglas v. Cox Retirement Properties, Inc., 2013 OK 37, 302 P.2d 789 (Okla. 2013) and repealed by Laws 2013, 1st Ex. Sess., c. 9, § 1, emerg. eff. Sept. 10, 2013.