Averments in a pleading to which no responsive pleading is required or permitted shall be taken as denied or avoided. Averments in a pleading to which a responsive pleading is required are admitted when not denied in the responsive pleading, except that the following allegations must be proved:
Rule 8.04.Effect of failure to deny.
Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceRule 8.04 provides that averments needing no response are treated as denied, that averments in a required responsive pleading are admitted if not denied, and that allegations against a person under a disability, allegations needed for a divorce, and unliquidated damage amounts must still be proved regardless.
Full Text of Rule 8.04
(a) Those against a person under any disability.
(b) Those necessary to sustain an action for divorce.
(c) Those concerning value or amount of damage which are not for a sum certain or for a sum which may by computation be made certain.
Amendment History
(Amended October 18, 1977, effective January 1, 1978.)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 8.04 explains what happens when a pleading goes unanswered. If no response is required or allowed -- allegations in an answer, for instance, which does not call for a reply -- the averments are treated as denied or avoided. But when a responsive pleading is required, such as an answer to a complaint, any allegation not denied there is taken as admitted.
Three kinds of allegations escape that automatic admission and still need proof at trial: allegations against a person under a legal disability, allegations necessary to support a divorce, and allegations about the value or amount of damages when that figure isn't a sum certain or one that can be computed. Even a party who never answers those points cannot be found to have conceded them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I don't respond to an allegation in the answer?
Under Rule 8.04, an averment in a pleading that calls for a response is admitted if the responsive pleading does not deny it, apart from a short list of allegations that must still be proved.
What allegations still have to be proved even if no one denies them?
Rule 8.04 requires proof of allegations against a person under a disability, allegations necessary to sustain a divorce, and allegations about the value or amount of damages that are not a sum certain or a sum that can be made certain by computation.
Do I need to respond to allegations in a pleading that doesn't call for an answer?
No. Rule 8.04 treats averments in a pleading to which no responsive pleading is required or permitted as denied or avoided automatically.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (Ky. R. Civ. P. 8.04). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Kentucky (Ky. Const. § 116). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
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