“A demurrer is a pleading used to test the legal sufficiency of other pleadings. I.e., it raises issues of law, not fact, regarding the form or content of the opposing party’s pleading (complaint, petition, answer or cross-complaint). It is not the function of a demurrer to challenge the truthfulness of the complaint; and for purposes of the ruling on a demurrer, all facts pleaded in the complaint are assumed to be true however improbable they may be. A demurrer may be the defendant’s initial pleading. If defendant has not previously appeared in the action, the demurrer constitutes a general appearance, subjecting defendant to the court’s personal jurisdiction. A demurrer can be utilized where the complaint itself is incomplete or discloses some defense that would bar recovery [e.g., dates pleaded in complaint show statute of limitations has run].”
[California Practice Guide: Civil Procedure Before Trial [citations to primary sources omitted]]
