2009 California Code of Civil Procedure - Section 431.10-431.70 :: Article 2. Denials And Defenses

431.10.  (a) A material allegation in a pleading is one essential to
the claim or defense and which could not be stricken from the
pleading without leaving it insufficient as to that claim or defense.
   (b) An immaterial allegation in a pleading is any of the
following:
   (1) An allegation that is not essential to the statement of a
claim or defense.
   (2) An allegation that is neither pertinent to nor supported by an
otherwise sufficient claim or defense.
   (3) A demand for judgment requesting relief not supported by the
allegations of the complaint or cross-complaint.
   (c) An "immaterial allegation" means "irrelevant matter" as that
term is used in Section 436.

431.20.  (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.

431.30.  (a) As used in this section:
   (1) "Complaint" includes a cross-complaint.
   (2) "Defendant" includes a person filing an answer to a
cross-complaint.
   (b) The answer to a complaint shall contain:
   (1) The general or specific denial of the material allegations of
the complaint controverted by the defendant.
   (2) A statement of any new matter constituting a defense.
   (c) Affirmative relief may not be claimed in the answer.
   (d) If the complaint is subject to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 90) of Chapter 5.1 of Title 1 of Part 1 or is not verified, a
general denial is sufficient but only puts in issue the material
allegations of the complaint. If the complaint is verified, unless
the complaint is subject to Article 2 (commencing with Section 90) of
Chapter 5.1 of Title 1 of Part 1, the denial of the allegations
shall be made positively or according to the information and belief
of the defendant. However, if the cause of action is a claim assigned
to a third party for collection and the complaint is verified, the
denial of the allegations shall be made positively or according to
the information and belief of the defendant, even if the complaint is
subject to Article 2 (commencing with Section 90) of Chapter 5.1 of
Title 1 of Part 1.
   (e) If the defendant has no information or belief upon the subject
sufficient to enable him or her to answer an allegation of the
complaint, he or she may so state in his or her answer and place his
or her denial on that ground.
   (f) The denials of the allegations controverted may be stated by
reference to specific paragraphs or parts of the complaint; or by
express admission of certain allegations of the complaint with a
general denial of all of the allegations not so admitted; or by
denial of certain allegations upon information and belief, or for
lack of sufficient information or belief, with a general denial of
all allegations not so denied or expressly admitted.
   (g) The defenses shall be separately stated, and the several
defenses shall refer to the causes of action which they are intended
to answer, in a manner by which they may be intelligibly
distinguished.

431.40.  (a) Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
in any action in which the demand, exclusive of interest, or the
value of the property in controversy does not exceed one thousand
dollars ($1000), the defendant at his option, in lieu of demurrer or
other answer, may file a general written denial and a brief statement
of any new matter constituting a defense.
   (b) Nothing in this section excuses the defendant from complying
with the provisions of law applicable to a cross-complaint, and any
cross-complaint of the defendant shall be subject to the requirements
applicable in any other action.
   (c) The general written denial described in subdivision (a) shall
be on a blank available at the place of filing and shall be in a form
prescribed by the Judicial Council. This form need not be verified.

431.50.  In an action to recover upon a contract of insurance
wherein the defendant claims exemption from liability upon the ground
that, although the proximate cause of the loss was a peril insured
against, the loss was remotely caused by or would not have occurred
but for a peril excepted in the contract of insurance, the defendant
shall in his answer set forth and specify the peril which was the
proximate cause of the loss, in what manner the peril excepted
contributed to the loss or itself caused the peril insured against,
and if he claims that the peril excepted caused the peril insured
against, he shall in his answer set forth and specify upon what
premises or at what place the peril excepted caused the peril insured
against.

431.70.  Where cross-demands for money have existed between persons
at any point in time when neither demand was barred by the statute of
limitations, and an action is thereafter commenced by one such
person, the other person may assert in the answer the defense of
payment in that the two demands are compensated so far as they equal
each other, notwithstanding that an independent action asserting the
person's claim would at the time of filing the answer be barred by
the statute of limitations. If the cross-demand would otherwise be
barred by the statute of limitations, the relief accorded under this
section shall not exceed the value of the relief granted to the other
party. The defense provided by this section is not available if the
cross-demand is barred for failure to assert it in a prior action
under Section 426.30. Neither person can be deprived of the benefits
of this section by the assignment or death of the other. For the
purposes of this section, a money judgment is a "demand for money"
and, as applied to a money judgment, the demand is barred by the
statute of limitations when enforcement of the judgment is barred
under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 683.010) of Division 1 of
Title 9.