The court, in every stage of action, must disregard any error or defect in the pleadings or proceedings which does not affect the substantial rights of the adverse party; and no judgment shall be reversed or affected by reason of such error or defect.
§ 78.Immaterial Errors to Be Disregarded
Chapter 2: General Provisions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 78 requires courts to disregard any error or defect in pleadings or proceedings that doesn't affect the adverse party's substantial rights, and bars reversing a judgment for that kind of error.
Full Text of § 78
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 4791.
Plain-English Summary
Section 78 sets Oklahoma's harmless-error rule for civil pleadings and proceedings. At every stage of an action, the court must disregard any error or defect that doesn't affect the adverse party's substantial rights.
That protection carries through to judgment: no judgment gets reversed or otherwise affected because of an error or defect that didn't touch those substantial rights. The rule keeps technical missteps from derailing a case that reached the right result on the merits.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a small mistake in the pleadings get a case thrown out in Oklahoma?
Not under this section — courts must disregard errors or defects that don't affect the adverse party's substantial rights.
Does this rule apply only at trial, or throughout the case?
It applies at every stage of the action, from pleadings through proceedings.
Can a judgment be reversed because of a technical defect in the pleadings?
No, the section bars reversing or otherwise affecting a judgment because of an error or defect that didn't affect substantial rights.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Oklahoma harmless error rule pleadingsimmaterial defect not reversiblesubstantial rights standard civil proceduretechnical error disregarded by court