509.080. Defenses--form of denials. - Missouri Statutes

Defenses--form of denials.

509.080. A party shall state in short and plain terms hisdefenses to each claim asserted and shall admit or deny theaverments upon which the adverse party relies. If he is withoutknowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to thetruth of an averment, he shall so state and this has the effectof a denial. Denials shall fairly meet the substance of theaverments denied. When a pleader intends in good faith to denyonly a part or a qualification of an averment, he shall specifyso much of it as is true and material and shall deny only theremainder. Unless the pleader intends in good faith tocontrovert all the averments of the preceding pleading, he maymake his denials as specific denials of designated averments orparagraphs, or he may generally deny all the averments exceptsuch designated averments or paragraphs as he expressly admits;but, when he does so intend to controvert all its averments hemay do so by general denial.

(L. 1943 p. 353 § 39)