{"data":{"id":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-8","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"M. R. Civ. P. 8","heading":"General Rules of Pleading.","body":"(a) Claim for Relief. A pleading which states a claim for relief must contain:\n(1) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and\n(2) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.\n(b) Defenses; Admissions and Denials.\n(1) In General. In responding to a pleading, a party must:\n(A) state in short and plain terms its defenses to each claim asserted against it; and\n(B) admit or deny the allegations asserted by an opposing party.\n(2) Denials -- Responding to the Substance. A denial must fairly respond to the substance of the allegation.\n(3) General and Specific Denials. A party that intends in good faith to deny all the allegations of a pleading -- including the jurisdictional grounds -- may do so by a general denial. A party that does not intend to deny all the allegations must either specifically deny designated allegations or generally deny all except those specifically admitted.\n(4) Denying Part of an Allegation. A party that intends in good faith to deny only part of an allegation must admit the part that is true and deny the rest.\n(5) Lacking Knowledge or Information. A party that lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of an allegation must so state, and the statement has the effect of a denial.\n(6) Effect of Failing to Deny. An allegation -- other than one relating to the amount of damages -- is admitted if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied. If a responsive pleading is not required, an allegation is considered denied or avoided.\n(c) Affirmative Defenses.\n(1) In General. In responding to a pleading, a party must affirmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defense including, but not limited to:\n• accord and satisfaction;\n• action on advice of counsel;\n• arbitration and award;\n• assumption of risk;\n• comparative negligence;\n• discharge in bankruptcy;\n• duress;\n• estoppel;\n• failure of consideration;\n• fraud;\n• illegality;\n• injury by fellow servant;\n• laches;\n• license;\n• payment;\n• release;\n• res judicata;\n• statute of frauds;\n• statute of limitations; and\n• waiver.\n(2) Mistaken Designation. If a party mistakenly designates a defense as a counterclaim, or a counterclaim as a defense, the court must, if justice requires, treat the pleading as though it were correctly designated, and may impose terms for doing so.\n(d) Pleading to Be Concise and Direct; Alternative Statements; Inconsistency.\n(1) In General. Each allegation must be simple, concise, and direct. No technical form is required.\n(2) Alternative Statements of a Claim or Defense. A party may set out 2 or more statements of a claim or defense alternatively or hypothetically, either in a single count or defense or in separate ones. If a party makes alternative statements, the pleading is sufficient if any one of them is sufficient.\n(3) Inconsistent Claims or Defenses. A party may state as many separate claims or defenses as it has, regardless of consistency.\n(e) Construing Pleadings. Pleadings must be construed so as to do justice.","path":["TITLE 25. CIVIL PROCEDURE","CHAPTER 20. RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE","III. Pleadings and Motions"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0250/chapter_0200/part_0030/section_0080/0250-0200-0030-0080.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:50:09Z","sha256":"71acf6519f8319482cf96a3ed951f42ea69d7326aca086145cfa1a76d48ab68e","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-7.1","next":"us-mt/m.-r.-civ.-p.-9"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}