N.Y. CVP Law § 3018

§ 3018. Responsive pleadings. (a) Denials. A party shall deny those\nstatements known or believed by him to be untrue. He shall specify those\nstatements as to the truth of which he lacks knowledge or information\nsufficient to form a belief and this shall have the effect of a denial.\nAll other statements of a pleading are deemed admitted, except that\nwhere no responsive pleading is permitted they are deemed denied or\navoided.\n (b) Affirmative defenses. A party shall plead all matters which if not\npleaded would be likely to take the adverse party by surprise or would\nraise issues of fact not appearing on the face of a prior pleading such\nas arbitration and award, collateral estoppel, culpable conduct claimed\nin diminution of damages as set forth in article fourteen-A, discharge\nin bankruptcy, facts showing illegality either by statute or common law,\nfraud, infancy or other disability of the party defending, payment,\nrelease, res judicata, statute of frauds, or statute of limitation. The\napplication of this subdivision shall not be confined to the instances\nenumerated.\n