Confession and Avoidance

A form of plea that served as the formal answer to a plaintiff's complaint or declaration.

Under the old system of common-law pleading, a defendant might choose to respond to the plaintiff's claim with a plea of confession and avoidance. By that, the defendant acknowledged the truth of the allegations in the plaintiff's declaration, either specifically or by implication, and then asserted that there were additional facts that neutralized the legal effect of the plaintiff's allegations.