Rule 3.1320.Demurrers

A demurrer challenges whether a pleading states a valid claim or defense without requiring an answer to it, and rule 3.1320 governs how that challenge gets presented and processed. Each ground of demurrer must sit in its own paragraph and state plainly whether it targets the entire complaint, cross-complaint, or answer, or specific causes of action or defenses. A party may demur to just one cause of action while answering the rest. The notice of hearing must set a date consistent with Code of Civil Procedure section 1005's timeline, and the hearing itself must be calendared within 35 days of filing the demurrer, or the court's first available date after that, absent good cause for an earlier or later date. The first page of the demurrer must caption who is demurring and whose pleading is being challenged.

Showing up at the hearing matters. If one side does not appear, rule 3.1320(f) generally has the court dispose of the demurrer on the merits at the request of the party who did appear; skipping the hearing on a special demurrer specifically can be treated as an admission that the demurrer lacks merit. If neither side appears, the court may rule anyway, drop the matter from the calendar, or continue it.

Once the court rules, deadlines start running automatically unless the court orders otherwise. A party gets 10 days to answer or amend after a ruling on the demurrer, shortened to 5 calendar days in unlawful detainer and forcible entry or detainer cases, and 10 days to answer or otherwise plead once that period, or an overruling, has passed. Two enforcement tools close the loop: if a party never amends within the time allowed, the opposing side can seek dismissal and judgment through an ex parte application under Code of Civil Procedure section 581(f)(2) rather than a full noticed motion; if a party instead files an amended pleading too late, the fix runs through a noticed motion to strike it under Code of Civil Procedure section 1010.