How doIrespond to a summons?
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How doIrespond to a summons?
I have 20 days to respond. There no court date on the summons. I can see also it from a collection agency.
Asked on October 5, 2011 under Bankruptcy Law, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You will need to file an answer to the complaint with the court and serve by mail the answer to the complaint on the opposing party or the opposing party's attorney. The complaint is the lawsuit attached to the summons. At the law library, look for answer to complaint in the index of Pleading and Practice. This will give you the general format for an answer to a complaint. An answer denies the allegations in the complaint. At the end of the answer is the verification which you sign and date under penalty of perjury. The verification attests to the veracity of your statements in the answer. Attach a proof of service to the answer to the complaint and file it with the court. The proof of service verifies the date of mailing to the opposing party. You can use a court form proof of service or you can write your own. If you write your own proof of service, it just says that you are over 18 and the attached documents were sent via first class mail unless stated otherwise to ___________ (name and address of opposing party or name and address of opposing party's attorney) on ___________ (date). You sign and date at the bottom of the proof of service. The date you sign should be the same as the date of mailing and the same date you file your documents with the court. You will need to file your answer to the complaint with the court within twenty days from the date you were served with the summons and complaint. If you don't timely file your answer to the complaint with the court, the other party will have a default judgment entered against you. This means you would lose by default. If that happens, you will need to file a motion to set aside the default. If the judge grants your motion to set aside the default, the case is then back on track and litigation will continue.
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