The pleadings are the formal allegations by the parties of their respective claims and defenses, for the judgment of the Court.
§ 420.Definition
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 1. The Pleadings in General · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 420 defines pleadings as the formal statements each party files setting out its claims and defenses, giving the court what it needs to enter judgment.
Full Text of § 420
Plain-English Summary
Section 420 is a definition, not a procedure. It tells you what a pleading is before the rules that follow tell you what to put in one. A pleading is the formal allegation a party makes of its own claims or defenses, offered so the court has something concrete to judge.
That framing matters because it draws a line between pleadings and everything else a case generates. Discovery responses, briefs, and evidence are not pleadings under this definition; they support or test the claims and defenses a pleading has already put on the table. The complaint and answer (and, where they apply, the cross-complaint and demurrer identified in § 422.10) are the pleadings this chapter governs.
Because the definition is old and general, it leaves the specifics to the sections that follow it: what pleadings are allowed, what a complaint must contain, how a party responds. Section 420 supplies the vocabulary the rest of Title 6 builds on.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a pleading in a California civil case?
Under § 420, a pleading is a party's formal statement of its claims or defenses, made for the court's judgment. § 422.10 lists the specific pleadings this covers: complaints, demurrers, answers, and cross-complaints.
Is a motion the same thing as a pleading?
No. § 420 defines pleadings as the allegations of claims and defenses themselves. Motions ask the court to do something with those allegations; they are governed by separate rules, not by this section.
Why does the code bother defining pleadings at all?
Section 420 sets the vocabulary for the rest of Title 6. Later sections on complaints, answers, and cross-complaints all assume this baseline definition of what a pleading is and what it is for.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: what is a pleading californiadefinition of pleading california civil procedure