Reply to Affirmative Defenses
(IL)

Summary

This template is a reply to affirmative defenses you can use in an Illinois circuit court civil case. The template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate clauses. The plaintiff “shall” file a reply to any affirmative defenses raised in a defendant’s answer. Filing the reply does not constitute an admission of the legal sufficiency of the new defenses. 735 ILCS 5/2-602. A reply to affirmative defenses generally contains the following elements, in this order: • A caption • Denials and admissions of the allegations of the affirmative defenses • Signature of the plaintiff’s attorney (or the plaintiff, if unrepresented) When drafting the reply, be sure to address each allegation of the affirmative defenses and effectively: • Deny each allegation you intend to deny. • Admit each allegation you should admit. See 735 ILCS 5/2-610(a). Denials may not be evasive, but should fairly answer the substance of the allegation denied. See 735 ILCS 5/2-610(c). Any allegations in an affirmative defense that you do not deny in the reply are deemed admitted. See 735 ILCS 5/2-610(b). Pleading defenses. A party may plead as many defenses as it may have. See 735 ILCS 5/2-613(a). Each defense must be separately designated and numbered. See 735 ILCS 5/2-613(a). The defendant must plainly set forth in the answer the facts constituting any affirmative defense. See 735 ILCS 5/2-613(d). Remember that the defendant must plead affirmative defenses in the same manner and with the same level of specificity as a claim in a complaint. See 735 ILCS 5/2-603(a) (answer should “contain a plain and concise statement of the pleader’s . . . defense”). Practitioners often overlook this requirement and submit much more bare-boned affirmative defenses. In such cases, you can consider filing a motion to strike the affirmative defenses—but you should recognize that the court likely will allow the defendant to replead them, thus strengthening them and delaying the case. You must file a reply to an answer within 21 days after the last day allowed for the filing of the answer. See Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 182(a). For additional information, see Responding to a Civil Action (IL) and Answering the Complaint (IL).