35. May the manufacturer properly file an answer denying liability?

An answer is the defendant's response to the allegations in the complaint. It is another form of pleading, and so must follow the same format as the complaint. There are two types of responses in an answer: The first is responsive to the facts alleged and the second raises other defenses to the allegations. A responsive paragraph in an answer is an admission or a denial of a given allegation in the complaint. Every allegation in the complaint has to be admitted, denied, or the answer can deny sufficient information upon which to form a belief as to its truth.

Averments in a complaint, other than those concerning the amount of damage, are deemed admitted if not denied in the answer. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(6).

There are five kinds of denials in federal practice, four of which are set out in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 8(b), and the fifth is a judge-made extrapolation from Rule 11:

(i) The defendant may deny all the allegations in the plaintiff's complaint, called a «general denial.»

(ii) The defendant may deny the allegations of a specific paragraph or averment of the complaint, called a «specific denial.»

(iii) The defendant may deny a particular portion of a particular allegation, called a «qualified denial.»

(iv) The defendant may deny knowledge or information if he does not have knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the plaintiff's complaint. This has the effect of a full denial and is subject to the good faith requirement.

(v) A denial based on information and belief, which is not specifically set forth in Rule 8(b), but that allows a defendant without first-hand knowledge, but with enough information to believe in good faith that the complaint is false, to deny it on that ground. This kind of denial is often used by large corporate defendants, on whom the burden of obtaining information may be great.

Rule 11 ensures that when the defendant's lawyer signs the answer, any denials are «warranted on the evidence, or if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on belief or a lack of information.» The «reasonable inquiry» requirement aims to prevent the defendant's attorney from denying allegations that he KNOWS to be truthful, and from denying knowledge or information about the allegation if he knows it to be truthful.

B is correct. The manufacturer may properly deny the legal allegation on the ground that the seamstress's supervisor fired her because of incompetence, not because of her sex. This may amount to a specific denial or a denial based on information and belief that the allegation is false. Either way, the manufacturer has enough information to form a good faith belief that it did not illegally fire the seamstress based on her sex.

A is incorrect. This answer choice states the correct conclusion with the incorrect legal reasoning. The manufacturer may properly deny the allegation in its answer, not because further investigation would impose an unreasonable burden, but because it has enough information to properly deny it. The manufacturer, in good faith, may deny a claim that it believes is false based on information and belief. Although this type of denial is often invoked by corporations who would, in fact, be otherwise burdened by obtaining information, the burden itself may not be the basis for the denial. The good faith requirement ensures that the corporation only make such a denial based on the evidence that it either lacks or has to support the denial.

C is incorrect. The manufacturer is permitted to deny the allegation even though the manager who fired the seamstress is no longer an employee and the records are unclear. Even if the allegation is true, the manufacturer might simply lack sufficient information and be permitted to deny it. A defendant's uncertainty about the truth of an allegation does not require admission to it.

D is incorrect. While hearsay statements of other employees are likely to be inadmissible at trial, these statements may nonetheless form the basis for a good faith belief in the accuracy of the allegation that the seamstress was fired for incompetence. If it turns out that the statement is untrue, or cannot be supported by admissible evidence, the manufacturer may have to revise its denial.