It is very important that you answer the plaintiff’s complaint within the amount of time that is given by the court, or the plaintiff will receive a default judgment against you. And of course, they would like a default judgment! The first thing you want to do is check your local court rules and see if you are able to file a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer.

My personal experience:

When I was served and had a severe panic attack, I found a website full of people giving information and they said to answer the complaint right away. So I did. Not knowing that my state, Indiana, allowed me to file a motion for dismissal before I had to answer. I was served without a contract or assignment attached to the complaint so, I could have gotten this dismissed. But, I listened to the websites and filed my answer. In Indiana, you can file a motion to dismiss first before answering, If it is not granted then you have to answer the complaint. But here in Indiana, a motion is allowed before we have to file an answer so it is very important that you check your local court rules and see if there are any grounds for dismissal. If there are, check your rules and see if your court allows for a motion to dismiss before an answer. Once I filed my answer that meant I could not ask for dismissal.

Now on to examples of how you can answer this summons and complaint. Look at the complaint. There should be numbers such as:

• The plaintiff is the assignee of _____________ Bank.
• The defendant is indebted to plaintiff.

Each number on the complaint is considered a count against you. I answered the complaint by looking at each count and stating my defense. You are basically picking at the complaint and you need to defend yourself.

• Check your local court rules and see if the statute of limitations has expired and if so, see if you should file a motion to dismiss because the action is time barred.


• Check your local court rules and see if a contract, or ‘written instrument’, was supposed to be attached with the complaint. If so, see if you can file a motion to dismiss for failure to comply with ________ (your local court rules).

Remember that some courts allow a motion to dismiss in lieu of answer and some do not. Therefore, you always need to check your local court rules. They may require you to still file an answer, or they may not even allow motions in lieu of answers. Remember to check and then double check! I got my case dismissed by using this package.

If you are like me and are not sure what to do, and cannot afford an attorney, I highly recommend that you do what I did and get this package click here

Sample Summons Answer

SEE ALL AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES: Click Here

What helped me out the most is that the above package gives you step-by-step instructions on how to answer every single count against you. It has examples that you simply copy and paste. It was super easy and I had my answer all set within 20 minutes and I filed it with the court the next day.

I was a rookie, just like you, and I followed these easy instructions and won my case. (see proof below)

Additional Information

• Luslugger

  We are having trouble understanding how to move the court in Clark County Indiana. No one in the court house will say when or how the motions are scheduled. Are motions read by the judge and signed at his convenience? Does there have to be a hearing for the Judge to rule on a motion?

  
  

  Admin

  The Judge rules on all motions within 10 days, if you do not receive anything in the mail such as his ruling or a hearing date you can call the Clerks office to see what is going on. If the judge has failed to rule on your motion within a certain amount of time you can consider that motion denied read the Indiana Rules you’ll see how much time rulings on motion take.
  
  You will receive a copy in the mail of his ruling or they will set it for a hearing.
  
  There are no set days when the Judge reviews motions. The Clerk sends them on over to his/her Chambers and at his/her convenience he will then rule on it.
  
  If he feels the judge needs to know more well then a Hearing is set. If the Motion is a basic Dismissal without prejudice and the Defendant is 100% right and the Motion is perfect well then you just may get a ruling through the mail.




• RedVette

  So what exactly happens at the hearing? Will the plaintiff show up? I have a letter from Capital One telling me they have “No Written Contract” so do I just stick to my guns?

  
  

  Admin

  The attorney for Capital One showed up at my hearing and he was a major jerk. YES you stick to your guns. Original Creditor or Collection Agency doesn’t matter they all need proof to prevail in a court of law. Do they have any documents to back up their claim against you seeing they cannot produce a contract?




• Cheryl Durelli

  “My husband received a summons/complaint in Feb, 2010 but we never replied. They (a collection agency) evidently got a default judgment against him because he did not answer the complaint more or less but I have a copy of the default judgment either. Anyway, I purchased your “defendant’s package” and filed a motion to vacate judgment. We are in the state of nj, so, we filed that with a copy of an answer based on your package and I am awaiting the outcome right now. But, I’m writing you to let you know that there is an option for people that have default judgments against them to file a motion to vacate judgment. In NJ, you have to attach your answer to the motion to vacate and pay the fee. Also, he (the collection attorney) has sent us because he has a default judgment against my husband, an Information Subpoena to be filled out. I am very reluctant to fill out that information because I feel if he truly had a claim against my husband, you would have that information. But, I guess I’ll answer it because I don’t want my husband to spend any time in jail over it. Any other suggestions in this regard? Thanks so much for your help. Cheryl”

  
  

  Kelley Lynch

  Hi Cheryl,
  
  “You should spend some time filing a cross-complaint against the “plaintiff.””
  
  Kelley

  
  

  Cheryl Durelli

  “Thanks Kelley for the advice but I believe the time has passed for that. Not sure because I’m not a lawyer but I guess that’s why you need an attorney even though one knows things.”




• Fadlseed Ammer

  “I received letter from the court for credit card court summons, can you advice me what can i do?”




• Elizabeth Nagy

  “I have read somewhere that I should deny every single complain listed in the Summons. The second is: “On the information and belief, the Defendant is a citizen of Wake County, North Carolina and is not a minor and is not suffering under any legal disability.” This is all true. What should I deny in this?”

  
  

  Judy

  “You may admit those items that are true and deny others that you deem untrue. You can certainly admit your address, you’re not a minor, and have no disability if that’s true, and deny all the other parts of the complaint.”




• Sen

  “Hello,
  I am answering a summons for a friend of mine who had cosigned on his girlfriends bank account but never spent or authorized one cent. In fact the Bank reimbursed them for money that was stolen by his girlfriend’s daughter when they claimed it fraudulent. This money of course may not be but none-the-less not his charges. The Bank is not listed as the Plantiff, they refused providing receipts showing he signed, or any documentation that showed he made the charges. None provided. They have the two listed as married and were not. I am claiming No Claim defense, deny marriage and charges implicate third “unknown” party, and does he have the right to claim that the Plaintiff shows no relationship to the owner of the debt?
  Thanks”
  Sen




• Aron

  post from the above: is it to late to file a discovery?




• Lisa

  “I received a summons from a company in Illinois that bought a credit card debt from Chase on a Washington Mutual credit card.
  
  I questioned every bit of information that they placed in the complaint from the state laws they were filing under(Delaware-perhaps that should be Washington), the amount they had paid for the debt(they surely purchased at a discount), their ownership(they must prove). The have 20 days to replay–we will see if they do. The collectors for this group have been abrasive at a minimum. Calling every other day-as if 1 day of work would get them the amount of money they were demanding. Threats of lawsuits. Suggestion I get a job at McDonald’s, that I had to take their phone calls(you can request that they only use the postal service(snail mail). I did not include this information in the replay–but if they continue, I may.
  
  I am also looking into how they reported the inability to pay as ‘refusal to pay’. If they had other options I might get a little settlement from them.”




• Dominic

  “If it were me and I did do this, I would buy me a digital recorder. I bought a Sony ICD-P620. I would dispute the debt and request validation according to federal and state law. They have to provide both and Illinois is pretty good regarding their consumer debt collection statues. The Seventh Circuit Federal Court is very good and a lot of other states highly respect this courts opinions as well as the 9th Circuit. If it were me, I would also include in my dispute in the middle of a paragraph, “that all calls will be recorded”.
  
  Now since they sent you a summons and complaint, with 5 days of that communication, they should have sent you a 1692g notice of rights. If not, counter-claim against them. They have 20-21 days to answer the counter-claim, if not, If it were me, I’d file a notice of default.
  
  If it were me I would record every phone conversation, the date and time, the person’s name, the number they call from everything and then, If it were me, I’d call Edelman & combs in Chicago, Ill and make an appointment and If it were me, plan my next cruise for the next 12 months a week at a time. Be aggressive and never, never, never ever give up!!! Winston Churchill.”




• Michele

  “I received a summons in the mail (it was actually sent to my mothers house), it was never served to me in person. The summons was filed with the court 2 months prior to me receiving it in the mail. When I called the plaintiffs (law office) I asked if it is normal to receive the summons 2 months after it was filed and what I needed to de next. The lawyer told me that she would call me back in a couple days she needed to find out who the summons was delivered to. The summons does not show any date that i can find telling me when I need to be at the court house, I font know what to do at this point, can you help me. I live in California if you need this information.”




• ScallaNeedsHelp

  “Hello,
  
  I came home to find a note from the sheriffs office on my door. When I checked their website for civil suits against me, I found that a lawyer for Citibank has filled a credit card complaint against me. Should I avoid getting served or should I call the sheriffs office to get served and fight. The debt has been delinquent and inactive since 2007 or 2008. What should I do?”