A summons means a creditor is taking legal action against you for a debt. It consists of a complaint and a summons, which orders you to appear in court. Consult a lawyer, but don’t ignore it. Respond within 20-30 days, in writing or in person. Serve the plaintiff’s attorney and file with the court, including an affidavit of service.
If you’ve been served a summons, it means that a creditor has taken legal action against you to collect a debt. A summons actually consists of two parts: a summons and a complaint. The complaint outlines the charges brought against you, and the summons is a court order ordering you to appear to answer the allegations made in the complaint. Typically, these documents are referred to as a single action called Summons and Complaint.
Depending on the nature of your complaint, it may be in your best interest to consult a lawyer before proceeding. However, under no circumstances should you ignore the command to appear. This will almost certainly result in a default judgment being filed against you. A creditor can file this judgment for enforcement, which means that the creditor will be able to place a lien on your bank accounts or real estate. It could also expose you to a payroll income run.
When you are served a subpoena, a time frame will be specified in which you are required to respond. If a Process Server has served you in person, you will usually have 20 days to respond. However, you will usually have 30 days to respond to the summons whether it was received in the mail or by any other method. Other methods include commanding to appear accepted by another resident in your household who is over 18 years old.
Responding to a subpoena does not necessarily mean that you have to appear in court in person. In most cases, in fact, the answer can be formulated in writing and filed with the court within the established term (20 or 30 days). Basically, a response is a written document outlining your defenses against the allegations made in the complaint against you. This may consist of a blanket denial or include “affirmative defenses” and counterclaims, if applicable.
Your response must be served on the plaintiff’s (the obligee) attorney, if he is using one. This also constitutes service to the Plaintiff. At this point, you can also request that the lawyer provide details of the alleged debt (and always define it as such!) by presenting him with a list of questions called the Bill of Particulars.
There are also very specific guidelines for serving and filing your response and other accompanying documents. First, deliver a copy of your response to the plaintiff or their attorney via mail or process server. Then, file the original response with the court, along with an affidavit of service. This document documents how and when the plaintiff was served and must be signed by you before a notary. Finally, when you submit the original response and service affidavit to the court, ask the clerk to stamp a copy of each for your records.
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