A party served with a cross-complaint may within 30 days after service move, demur, or otherwise plead to the cross-complaint in the same manner as to an original complaint.
§ 432.10.Generally
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 3. Objections to Pleadings; Denials and Defenses · Article 3. Time to Respond to Cross-Complaint · Enacted 1971 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 432.10 gives a party served with a cross-complaint 30 days to move, demur, or otherwise plead to it, applying the same procedures as for an original complaint.
Full Text of § 432.10
Plain-English Summary
Section 432.10 extends the ordinary rules for responding to a complaint over to cross-complaints. A party served with a cross-complaint has 30 days after service to move, demur, or otherwise plead to it — the same window § 430.40(a) gives for an original complaint.
Because the section treats the cross-complaint the same way as an original complaint, all the demurrer grounds in § 430.10, the meet-and-confer requirement in § 430.41, and the motion-to-strike procedures in §§ 435 through 437 apply to a cross-complaint response in the same way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a party have to respond to a cross-complaint in California?
Section 432.10 gives 30 days after service to move, demur, or otherwise plead to the cross-complaint.
Do the same demurrer rules apply to a cross-complaint as to an original complaint?
Yes. Section 432.10 requires that a cross-complaint be treated in the same manner as an original complaint, so §§ 430.10 through 430.90 apply the same way.
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: time to respond to cross-complaint california