If you are ever actually served w/a lawsuit
Date: Thu, 06/15/2006 - 11:39
You usually have 10-15 days from the date you are served to "reply" to the suit in order to prevent a default judgment being entered against you. Your citation will tell you the amount of time you have. This is where an attorney comes in. However, if you're short cash (who isn't) and/or want to buy a little time to find an attorney that fits your needs then enter your own answer with the court.
This is called a Defendant's Original Answer and an example can be found on the internet or at a bookstore that carrys legal forms. Make it simple and be sure to include the case number, court, county, etc. and send a copy by certified mail to the Plaintiff.
The original and at least 1 copy should be filed with the court at which time the clerk will file mark it with the date and time you filed it. The file mark serves as your proof that you filed within the time limitation. At the court the clerk will keep the original with the records of the case and you then keep the file marked copy for your own records.
Once this is done the Plaintiff has to notify you of everything court wise they do. No sneeking in the backdoor. Like I said this buys you not only time to research this debt and get an attorney but keeps a default from being filed.
Failure to file an answer, any answer, enables the Plaintiff to get a judgment against you with no further notice. Once a default is entered you can appeal within the first 30 days but you definitely need an attorney from thereon.
Thanks for posting all of that! You never know when you might n
Thanks for posting all of that! You never know when you might need that information
Thanks Molly for explaining this portion elaborately. Many peopl
Thanks Molly for explaining this portion elaborately. Many people are not aware about the consequences of ignoring a court order even if it's not related with you. In cases where the company holds you for a debt that does not belong to you, some people think that their is no reason for them to appear in the court because they have been contacted for wrong reasons. True, the company contacted you with a wrong reason. Seeing your avoidance, they take the matter to the court and file a case against you. You still are not aware what they are trying to do behind your back. After the summons is served to you, the court asks for your appearance on the hearing date. You don't show your appearance thinking it not to be important. The company gets the case against you by default even if you don't owe them anything. The judge sensed that you were trying to avoid your responsibility by not showing your presence and the debt happens to be legitimate. This way, the company will get a judgment against you for a debt that never belonged to you.
Molly we could always use members such as yourself, will you con
Molly we could always use members such as yourself, will you consider signing up and staying with us for a while? This was such good info to share, thank you
I'd like to add that my experience is with TX law which is why I
I'd like to add that my experience is with TX law which is why I mentioned to check any subpoena/summons you may receive and can't give exact time limits because states vary.
Most lawsuits do not necessarily come with a hearing date. To have legal notice of a lawsuit, service is obtained by an official of the court - deputy/police officer usually - actually handing the defendant a copy of the suit. It is on the attached "cover sheet" to that lawsuit where you find the time limit to file an answer.
Court records are public domain. If you ever think someone might have filed a suit against you you can go to the clerk's office and just ask them to run your name.
BUT, and here's where you might feel overwhelmed, there are all kinds of courts. A creditor can file a suit against a debtor in either state, district, county or justice of the peace courts. Which court is usually determined by the amount of the debt.
The majority of debt collection suits filed would be in the county level ($5,000 and under). I believe the limt for justice of the peace cases is $500 and below and anything above $5,000 is district. The bigger the court the higher the cost for filing that the creditor will have to pay. What this all means is that just because you couldn't find something in one court, it could be in another so make it a point to check each one applicable to the amount the creditor is seeking restitution (recovery).
Even though we live in the age of computers not all counties are up to date. The smaller county clerks may have to search by hand and the larger ones don't have the time to take telephone inquiries so this is something that should be done in person. Another thing to consider is if you moved from 1 county to the other there is a possibility a suit was filed in the county where you previously resided. Personal service is still required to get a judgment but if none was obtained the subpoena is returned to the court.
When a creditor can't get service at the first address there are several options. One of those would be to look for a more current address and resissue the citation and another would be to leave the case on file with the court. If no action is taken within a certain time limit the court will send notice to the creditor the case will be dismissed. If they fail to respond then the case is dismissed. And of course the creditor could always just file for a dismissal.
Now as for signing up as a member, just what does that involve?