Answer a Legal Complaint

If you have been served with a summons and legal complaint, you are being sued. [1] This means you are a defendant in a civil case that has been filed by a person or business entity called the ‘plaintiff.’ You have a limited amount of time to respond to the complaint. Failure to timely respond could result in a default judgment being entered against you, in which case you would forfeit your right to respond and the person who sued you would prevail. Being sued is a serious matter and requires immediate action. Follow these steps to properly respond to a legal complaint.

Steps

Evaluating the Complaint

  1. Read the summons and complaint carefully. The summons and complaint (this may also be titled a petition, especially in state court) will tell you how much time you have to file a response. A defendant must respond to the plaintiff’s complaint in a short period of time, usually 30 days or less.
    • For example, a defendant in a federal lawsuit has to respond to the complaint within 21 days after the complaint and summons is served. [2]
    • State courts vary, so if you are being sued in state court, make sure to check the requirements. For example, in Texas, you must file a written answer to the plaintiff’s petition on or before 10 a.m. on the Monday after the expiration of 20 days after the date of service. If the 20th day after service falls on a Monday, the answer is due on the next Monday. [3]
  2. Understand the components of the complaint. Every valid complaint must contain the following information. [1] If any of this information is missing, you may be able to ask the court to dismiss the complaint rather than answering it. Consult with an attorney to figure out if that’s the right move in your case.
    • Jurisdictional basis. The plaintiff must state why the court is the proper place for the case to be heard (based on location, and whether it is a state or federal court), and why the court has jurisdiction over you.
    • Causes of action. These are the actual ‘complaints’ the plaintiff has against you, framed in terms of viable legal claims.
    • Relief demanded. The plaintiff must specify what he or she seeks from you. This most commonly includes monetary damages, an injunction (a court order preventing you from doing something), a request to pay his/her attorney’s fees and court costs. Note that in the initial complaint, the plaintiff must include the type of relief sought, but need not provide specific dollar amounts.
  3. Research the rules for the jurisdiction in which you have been sued. Although the format and procedure for answering a complaint is similar in most areas, always read the court rules for your jurisdiction prior to drafting any legal document.
    • The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern lawsuits in federal courts. [4] If you are being sued in federal court, be sure to also check the website for the particular federal district court in which the complaint was filed. [5] You will find the court’s Local Rules on its website. [6] Read the Local Rules carefully: they may impose requirements above and beyond those in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
    • If you are being sued in state court, check your state’s rules. These can be found on the internet. [7] Also check any Local Rules for the particular court listed on the complaint. [8]
    • No matter which jurisdiction you are being sued in, be sure to also look up the particular judge who is assigned to your case. Each judge may have his/her own “chamber’s rules” posted online regarding procedures that you will also need to know.
  4. Consult an attorney. You may wish to handle this initial stage of the lawsuit yourself, but remember it is vitally important to follow all the applicable rules and procedures. If the pending lawsuit becomes too complicated for you to resolve without legal assistance, look into retaining an attorney to represent you.
    • If you are being sued in a jurisdiction in which you do not live, you will likely be required to retain ‘local counsel’ who practices in that jurisdiction to file documents and appear in court on your behalf. [9]
    • Check the rules for the court to see whether it is possible to represent yourself (called ‘pro se’) at all, or whether you will need to hire an attorney, and by what stage of the lawsuit. [10]

Choosing the Proper Response

  1. Request an extension of time to respond. If you need additional time, contact the person whose name and phone number are in the left hand corner of the complaint (usually the plaintiff’s attorney), and ask for a short extension.
    • If the plaintiff agrees to give you more time to respond, follow up by sending a brief letter or email confirming the extension.
    • Whether or not the plaintiff agrees to the extension, file a Motion to Extend Time with the court to formally ask for the extension. Check the rules of your jurisdiction to find out how and when to file the motion. [11]
  2. Decide how best to respond to the complaint. You have two main options for your initial response. You can file a formal document called an answer that responds to each allegation in the complaint, and includes defenses and possibly counterclaims. Or, you can file a motion with the court asking to dismiss the complaint based on a procedural defect in the lawsuit. [2]
    • An attorney can, and should, help you decide which avenue to pursue, based on the facts of your specific case.
    • Read the rules of your jurisdiction carefully. Some jurisdictions may require you to file an answer even if you have a motion to dismiss pending, and others may not. [12]
  3. File something with the court before the deadline. If you don’t have time to file a motion before your answer deadline, file any answer that contests the allegations in the complaint to prevent a default judgment. You can always amend your answer at a later date, and there are other avenues available for you to ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit down the road. [13]

Preparing and Filing a Motion to Dismiss

  1. Evaluate any defects in the lawsuit. Before filing an answer, you can file a “Motion to Dismiss” (also called a “Demurrer,” especially in state court) claiming that there is at least one procedural defect with the lawsuit. Some common defects include the following: [2]
    • The court lacks the power to hear the case. Here, you can state that the court does not have jurisdiction over you (because you have not been to the state where the lawsuit was filed), or the plaintiff filed the lawsuit in the wrong court. [14]
    • Improper service or summons of the complaint. For example, the plaintiff may not have served you properly if you never received the complaint or the plaintiff himself handed you the complaint, instead of having an unrelated party do it. [14]
    • The complaint fails to state a claim for relief the court can grant. This means the plaintiff failed to show the court facts that could prove every element of every claim. For example, if the plaintiff sues you for fraud, but fails to state any facts showing that you intended to defraud him/her, you can move to dismiss for this reason. [15]
  2. Draft the motion to dismiss. You will need to include every legal argument you have for why the plaintiff’s complaint is deficient. You will also need to back up your arguments by researching what your court or other courts in your jurisdiction have done in similar circumstances, as well as citing any statutes (laws) in your jurisdiction.
    • Review the court’s Local Rules and the judge’s chambers rules for specific requirements. Your motion may need to be presented on special paper, may need to be formatted in a specific way, and there will likely be a limit on the number of pages it can be. You may also need to file additional documents along with your motion. There may also be certain procedures for filing the motion you will need to follow.
    • Doing this kind of legal research and preparing the motion according to a court’s specifications is not easy or cheap. If you’ve decided to draft a motion to dismiss that is not very straightforward, consult with an attorney. [16]
  3. Draft a reply brief, if permitted. After the plaintiff receives your motion, he/she will have a certain number of days to file a response (or opposition) to your brief. After that, you will likely have the opportunity to file your response (or reply) to the plaintiff’s opposition brief. [17]
    • Check your court’s rules to determine the deadlines for the plaintiff’s opposition brief and your reply brief. These requirements vary widely by jurisdiction. Be sure to also confirm any specific requirements for page limits, pleading paper, etc.
    • Address the plaintiff’s specific arguments from his/her opposition brief. Many courts will not consider issues raised for the first time in a reply brief, so focus on refuting the plaintiff’s points, rather than crafting new points of your own. [17]
    • After the plaintiff receives your reply brief, he/she may be entitled to respond to that brief with a ‘sur-reply.’ Check your court’s rules to determine if a sur-reply is permitted, and calculate the deadline. [18]
  4. Wait for the court’s order. Except in very exceptional circumstances, after the sur-reply is filed (if permitted), courts will allow no more briefing on the motion. At that point, the court can review the briefing and give its ruling (or order) at any time.
    • The court may or may not require the parties to attend a hearing on the motion. If a hearing is scheduled, you or your attorney will need to argue your position. The judge may rule on the spot, or he/she may take some time to consider the briefing and arguments and issue a written order at a later date.
    • If the court grants the motion and dismisses the complaint, the plaintiff may or may not be permitted to re-file the complaint against you. [19] Read the court’s order carefully to make sure you understand what will happen next.
    • If your motion is granted and the plaintiff does not refile the suit within the time allowed, the lawsuit may be over.
    • Even if the plaintiff is permitted to re-file, he/she will have to do a lot more work to re-draft the complaint to get around the procedural defect that led to dismissal. The prospect of extra work and money may lead the plaintiff to decide to try to settle the case instead of re-filing.

Preparing and Filing an Answer

  1. Copy the complaint’s format. Your answer will look similar to the plaintiff’s complaint and must include the following information. [20]
    • Identifying information, such as your name or your attorney’s name and address
    • Caption, which identifies the parties and identifies the document as the Answer
    • Response to factual allegations. These can take one of several different forms, depending on what is permitted in your jurisdiction.
      • A general denial will state something like “the defendant denies each and every allegation of the complaint.” It does not specifically address the allegations of the complaint, but instead denies them all at once. [21]
      • If your jurisdiction does not allow you to answer with a ‘General Denial’ of all the plaintiff’s allegations, you will need to address each allegation specifically. Respond to each allegation with ‘Admit,’ ‘Deny,’ or ‘Do not have enough information to admit or deny, so deny.’ [22]
  2. Include defenses and counterclaims, if applicable. These go beyond the facts alleged in the plaintiff’s complaint and allow you to being to tell your side of the story.
    • Affirmative defenses are facts you can state that will defeat the plaintiff’s claims. [2] You can look at sample answers online to find common affirmative defenses. There are many possible affirmative defenses, but some common ones are statute of limitations (the plaintiff waited too long before suing) and lack of standing (the plaintiff is not the proper party to bring the suit). [23]
    • Counterclaims are claims you have against the plaintiff. In a way, a counterclaim means suing the plaintiff back, though both of your claims will remain in the same lawsuit. Note that if you file counterclaims, the plaintiff will have the opportunity to file his/her own answer to the counterclaims. [24]
  3. Finalize the answer for filing. You will need to make sure to include a Prayer for Relief and sign the answer.
    • The Prayer for Relief tells the court what you want. Usually, this is along the lines of ‘the plaintiff recovers nothing,’ or a request for attorney’s fees and costs you incurred in defending against the lawsuit, if that is permitted in your case.
    • Your signature attests that everything in the answer is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. [25]
  4. Locate a fillable form for your jurisdiction. Instead of drafting your own document, many states will have a standard form “Answer” that you can file, filling in the information that is relevant to your case. For example, California provides an “answer form” for contract cases. [26]
  5. File the answer. Most courts allow you to “e-file,” which means filing electronically through the court’s website. Check your court’s website and Local Rules to find out if this option is available to you. If it is not, or if you prefer to file manually, check your court’s Local Rules to find out how to accomplish this.
    • If you file electronically, you will likely receive a confirmation email to the address you used to set up your e-filing account. That will help you ensure that you filed your answer correctly and on time. If the plaintiff also has an e-filing account set up for this lawsuit, he/she will be automatically served with your answer, so you will not need to serve the answer yourself. [27]
    • If you file manually, you will need to be sure to serve the answer on the plaintiff by the deadline provided by your court. Usually, this can be accomplished by emailing or mailing the answer to the plaintiff. [28]

Tips

  • Always consider reaching out to the plaintiff informally to discuss settlement. You may even be able to agree on a settlement before your answer deadline, and then the case will be dismissed. Note that once you are both represented by attorneys, all communications should go through the attorneys.
  • Note that if you do not file an answer or motion before the deadline, a default judgment may be entered against you. A default judgment is a court order finding in favor of the plaintiff and ordering the defendant to pay the plaintiff the amount requested in the complaint, based on the defendant’s failure to answer to the lawsuit. However, in some situations the court will “set aside” (or undo) the default judgment if the defendant can prove that there is a valid reason that he or she did not answer the complaint.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/complaint
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_12
  3. ↑ http://www.krogerlaw.com/AnswerDateCalculator.html
  4. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp
  5. ↑ http://www.uscourts.gov/court-locator
  6. ↑ https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/LRs-Effective-2014-December%201-Chapter%201.pdf
  7. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/table_civil_procedure
  8. ↑ http://www.dallascounty.org/department/districtclerk/media/New_LocalRules_for_CivilCourt.pdf
  9. ↑ http://www.oked.uscourts.gov/local-counsel-requirements
  10. ↑ http://www.mad.uscourts.gov/general/pdf/prosefaqs.pdf
  11. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_6
  12. ↑ https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/6jd/forms/SRForms/resp_howtoans.pdf
  13. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_15
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://injury.findlaw.com/accident-injury-law/resolving-your-case-before-trial-court-motions.html
  15. ↑ http://www.mitchell-attorneys.com/legal-articles/common-law-fraud/
  16. ↑ https://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/litigationnews/trial_skills/pretrial-motion-dismiss.html
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 http://apps.americanbar.org/litigation/committees/pretrial/email/winter2012/winter2012-ten-commandments-writing-effective-reply-brief.html
  18. ↑ http://www.txed.uscourts.gov/page1.shtml?location=rules:local
  19. ↑ http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/dismissal-without-prejudice-term.html
  20. ↑ https://www.millerandzois.com/sample-answers.html
  21. ↑ https://www.millerandzois.com/files/federal-answer.pdf
  22. ↑ http://www.donovanlegalstudies.com/PLEADING.u01.rev.pdf
  23. ↑ https://www.millerandzois.com/files/sample-circuit-court-answer-2.pdf
  24. ↑ https://www.citizen.org/documents/NichollsAnswerandCounterclaim.pdf
  25. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_11
  26. ↑ http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/pldc010.pdf
  27. ↑ http://www.uscourts.gov/courtrecords/electronic-filing-cmecf
  28. ↑ http://www.saclaw.org/pages/copy-assemble-ans.aspx
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