{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2008","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 12-2008","heading":"General rules of pleading","body":"GENERAL RULES OF PLEADING\n\nA. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF. A pleading which sets forth a claim for\n\nrelief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim or\n\nthird-party claim, shall contain:\n\n1. A short and plain statement of the claim showing that the\n\npleader is entitled to relief; and\n\n2. A demand for judgment for the relief to which he deems\n\nhimself entitled. Every pleading demanding relief for damages in\n\nmoney in excess of the amount required for diversity jurisdiction\n\npursuant to Section 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code\n\nshall, without demanding any specific amount of money, set forth\n\nonly that the amount sought as damages is in excess of the amount\n\nrequired for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to Section 1332 of\n\nTitle 28 of the United States Code, except in actions sounding in\n\ncontract. Every pleading demanding relief for damages in money in\n\nan amount that is required for diversity jurisdiction pursuant to\n\nSection 1332 of Title 28 of the United States Code or less shall\n\nspecify the amount of such damages sought to be recovered. Relief\n\nin the alternative or of several different types may be demanded.\n\nB. DEFENSES; FORM OF DENIALS. A party shall state in short and\n\nplain terms his defenses to each claim asserted and shall admit or\n\ndeny the averments upon which the adverse party relies. If he is\n\nwithout knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to\n\nthe truth of an averment, he shall so state and this statement has\n\nthe effect of a denial. Denials shall fairly meet the substance of\n\nthe averments denied. When a pleader intends in good faith to deny\n\nonly a part or a qualification of an averment, he shall specify so\n\nmuch of it as is true and material and shall deny only the\n\nremainder. Unless the pleader intends in good faith to controvert\n\nall the averments of the preceding pleading, he may make his denials\n\nas specific denials of designated averments or paragraphs or he may\n\ngenerally deny all the averments except such designated averments or\n\nparagraphs as he expressly admits; but, when he does so intend to\n\ncontrovert all its averments, he may do so by general denial subject\n\nto the obligations set forth in Section 2011 of this title.\n\nC. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES. In pleading to a preceding pleading,\n\na party shall set forth affirmatively:\n\n1. Accord and satisfaction;\n\n2. Arbitration and award;\n\n3. Assumption of risk;\n\n4. Contributory negligence;\n\n5. Discharge in bankruptcy;\n\n6. Duress;\n\n7. Estoppel;\n\n8. Failure of consideration;\n\n9. Fraud;\n\n10. Illegality;\n\n11. Injury by fellow servant;\n\n12. Laches;\n\n13. License;\n\n14. Payment;\n\n15. Release;\n\n16. Res judicata;\n\n17. Statute of frauds;\n\n18. Statute of limitations;\n\n19. Waiver; and\n\n20. Any other matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative\n\ndefense.\n\nWhen a party has mistakenly designated a defense as a\n\ncounterclaim or a counterclaim as a defense, the court on terms, if\n\njustice so requires, shall treat the pleading as if there had been a\n\nproper designation.\n\nD. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO DENY. Averments in a pleading to which\n\na responsive pleading is required, other than those as to the amount\n\nof damage, are admitted when not denied in the responsive pleading.\n\nAverments in a pleading to which no responsive pleading is required\n\nor permitted shall be taken as denied or avoided.\n\nE. PLEADING TO BE CONCISE AND DIRECT; CONSISTENCY.\n\n1. Each averment of a pleading shall be simple, concise, and\n\ndirect. No technical forms of pleadings or motions are required.\n\n2. A party may set forth, and at trial rely on, two or more\n\nstatements of a claim or defense alternately or hypothetically,\n\neither in one count or defense or in separate counts or defenses.\n\nWhen two or more statements are made in the alternative and one of\n\nthem if made independently would be sufficient, the pleading is not\nare required.\n\n2. A party may set forth, and at trial rely on, two or more\n\nstatements of a claim or defense alternately or hypothetically,\n\neither in one count or defense or in separate counts or defenses.\n\nWhen two or more statements are made in the alternative and one of\n\nthem if made independently would be sufficient, the pleading is not\n\nmade insufficient by the insufficiency of one or more of the\n\nalternative statements. A party may also state as many separate\n\nclaims or defenses as he has regardless of consistency and whether\n\nbased on legal or equitable grounds. All statements shall be made\n\nsubject to the obligations set forth in Section 2011 of this title.\n\nF. CONSTRUCTION OF PLEADINGS. All pleadings shall be so\n\nconstrued as to do substantial justice.","path":["OK Code","Title 12"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os12.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"836ed31a1f3703632e9142506c4547cb6a7e12625081dfa961b925347650f26a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2007","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-12-12-2009"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}