(a) A demurrer to a complaint or cross-complaint may be taken to the whole complaint or cross-complaint or to any of the causes of action stated therein.
§ 430.50.Demurrer to Whole Complaint Or Any Cause of Action Stated; Demurrer to Whole Answer Or to Any Defenses Set Up
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Objections to Pleadings; Denials and Defenses · Article 1. Objections to Pleadings · Enacted 1971 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 430.50 lets a demurrer to a complaint or cross-complaint target the whole pleading or any single cause of action, and lets a demurrer to an answer target the whole answer or any one or more of its defenses.
Full Text of § 430.50
(b) A demurrer to an answer may be taken to the whole answer or to any one or more of the several defenses set up in the answer.
Plain-English Summary
Section 430.50 confirms that a demurrer can be scoped narrowly. A demurring party is not forced to attack an entire complaint or cross-complaint; subdivision (a) lets the demurrer reach the whole pleading or only one or more of the causes of action stated in it.
Subdivision (b) mirrors that flexibility for answers, letting a demurrer target the whole answer or just one or more of the several defenses the answer sets up. This scoping matters in practice, since a court can sustain a demurrer to some causes of action or defenses while leaving others intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a demurrer challenge just one cause of action instead of the whole complaint?
Yes. Section 430.50(a) allows a demurrer to target the whole complaint or cross-complaint, or only one or more of the causes of action it states.
Can a demurrer target a single defense in an answer?
Yes. Section 430.50(b) allows a demurrer to the whole answer or to one or more of the specific defenses set up in it.
What happens to the rest of a complaint if a demurrer succeeds on only one cause of action?
The remaining causes of action stand; sustaining a demurrer as to one cause of action under § 430.50 does not affect the others unless the demurrer challenged them too.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1971, Ch. 244.
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: demurrer to whole complaint or cause of actionpartial demurrer california