An answer is a formal written response to the complaint. In an answer, you will admit or deny each allegation in the complaint. You cannot simply write a letter to the court with your response to the complaint. Instead, the law requires that you answer using one of the forms provided by the court, or draft your own response, following the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Warning: If you do not deny an allegation in the complaint, the court may deem it admitted. Proceed cautiously and be sure to carefully review the complaint and your answer.
You may use California Courts Form PLD-PI-003 for your answer in personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death cases. For contract cases, you may use Form PLD-C-010. If your case does not fall into one of these categories, you may instead follow the template provided in this guide.
If the complaint was verified in an unlimited civil case, meaning the amount in dispute is over $35,000, the answer must also be verified. Every paragraph of the complaint must be answered, and a verification must be included in the response. When you verify a pleading, you are stating that, under penalty of perjury, you are stating the truth.
If the complaint was not verified, or if it is a limited civil case, you are not required to respond with a verified answer. Instead, you may file a general denial.
If you plan to assert any affirmative defenses, you must list these in the answer, or you will lose your opportunity to bring up these defenses later in the case. This is a defense that negates or reduces the defendant's liability for wrongdoing. In other words, even if you did do something unlawful, there may be surrounding circumstances that excuse your actions, or at least reduce your responsibility for them. Examples include: