Nuce Acoustic Ceilings & Drywall, Inc. v. DeLesline Construction, Inc., 51 Fla. L. Weekly D953 (Fla. May 8, 2026):

While the facts aren’t especially important here, the court explained the important distinction between an “affirmative defense” and a “general denial.”

An affirmative defense is a “confession-and-avoidance;” a general denial is not.

When a defendant “denies” a pled fact, that defendant denies an ultimate fact that is set forth in the pleading.

Affirmative defenses, though, “confess and avoid,” because they admit the allegations of the plea to which they are directed, and then allege additional facts that avoid the legal effect of the confession.