General denial

General denial

In pleading, a general denial is a denial that relates to all allegations which are not otherwise pleaded to. Many legal systems provide that in a statement of defense, any allegation made by the plaintiff which is not traversed (ie. specifically denied or "not-admitted") is deemed to have been admitted by the defendants. Accordingly, it became common practice to add a general denial at the end of a statement of defense to make sure that nothing was accidentally admitted in this fashion.

In English law, a general denial was a relatively common feature of pleading up until the mid-1990s, when the General Council of the Bar, through the Inns of Court School of Law, began teaching students that it should not be done except in pleadings of unusual length and complexity, and although it is still seen today, it is much less common.

In English law, the usual form of general denial was normally phrased:

:"Except as hereinbefore expressly admitted or not-admitted, each and every paragraph of the statement of claim is denied as if set out herein "seriatim"."


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • general denial — see denial Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. general denial …   Law dictionary

  • general denial — A pleading in modern practice which bears a close analogy to the general issue in common law pleading; a pleading, in response to what purports to be an affirmative allegation of a cause of action, which operates as a denial of every material… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • denial — de·ni·al /di nī əl/ n 1: refusal to grant or allow something denial of due process denial of a motion 2 a: an assertion that an allegation is false b: a defense asserting that an opposing party s allegations are false compare …   Law dictionary

  • general — gen·er·al / jen rəl, je nə / adj 1: involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole 2: involving, relating to, or applicable to every member of a class, kind, or group 3: not confined by specialization or limitation 4: relating to, determined by …   Law dictionary

  • denial — A traverse in the pleading of one party of an allegation of fact asserted by the other; a defense. A response by the defendant to matters) alleged by the plaintiff in the complaint. Under Rules of Civil Procedure, denials must be specific and… …   Black's law dictionary

  • denial — A traverse in the pleading of one party of an allegation of fact asserted by the other; a defense. A response by the defendant to matters) alleged by the plaintiff in the complaint. Under Rules of Civil Procedure, denials must be specific and… …   Black's law dictionary

  • denial — /di nuy euhl/, n. 1. an assertion that something said, believed, alleged, etc., is false: Despite his denials, we knew he had taken the purse. The politician issued a denial of his opponent s charges. 2. refusal to believe a doctrine, theory, or… …   Universalium

  • general issue — A common law pleading, abolished as such in most states using a reformed system of pleading, consisting of a denial in short form of all that is material in the complaint or declaration. Somewhat analogous to the general denial of modern code and …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • denial — A contradiction; a traverse; a withholding; a refusal to grant; a refusal. In pleading, a controverting of affirmative allegations in the pleading of an adversary. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a denial of statements made in a… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • general — From Latin word genus. It relates to the whole kind, class, or order. Leuthold v. Brandjord, 100 Mont. 96, 47 P.2d 41, 45. Pertaining to or designating the genus or class, as distinguished from that which characterizes the species or individual;… …   Black's law dictionary

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