Quick: How long do you have to answer a complaint?
20 or 30 days, right? Wrong!
It’s easy to misread the summons that comes with a complaint. It says (or should say) you have a number of days to respond, not to answer.
You don’t want to answer until a judge orders you to.
Why is that, you ask?
Because when you’ve been sued, you need time to get your stuff together. If you don’t take time to find the best defenses, you’ll get rolled like a log.
All you really need to do in the time allowed is to respond to the summons — to acknowledge what’s called personal jurisdiction — to show you understand the court has a right to decide the case.
Note well: To prevent the court from granting your plaintiff a default judgment, you will need to file a response.
But that’s very different from an answer. A response can be anything — a motion to quash or dismiss the complaint, a discovery request, a request for more time, a stipulation for trial.
Okay, just kidding on that stipulation. Don’t tell the judge you’re ready for trial until you’re ready for trial.
But you get the point. You’ll need to file something, just don’t file an answer.
When the time is right, the answer itself will be easy to prepare. You simply admit or deny the facts in the complaint.
But it can sometimes be difficult to separate the facts in the complaint from legal conclusions dressed up as facts. When a bank forecloses your home and claims they’re the holder of your note, is that a fact or a conclusion? You need time to sort those things out.
Your primary objective in preparing an answer is to find grounds for dismissing the case. What is missing in the complaint?
Take time to research the elements of the claim, and determine whether any elements are unsupported by facts in the complaint. If your plaintiff was sloppy and you catch it, you can get that complaint bounced right out of court.
Then you won’t have to answer at all.
Also, if you’re planning to assert affirmative defenses to the claim — and you should! — they must be filed with your answer.
Did the plaintiff fail to meet some precondition before filing the claim? Did they contribute in some way to the harm they experienced? Did they wait too long to file the claim?
Take time to find and prepare effective defenses.
The danger in rushing to answer a complaint is that you might be stuck with it. And if there’s anything wrong with your answer, that mistake can come back to bite you.
Sure, an answer can be amended later. But not always. If your plaintiff responds to your answer, you may need the court’s permission to amend it.
Of course your plaintiff can object to that request, so you could end up fighting over your very own answer. That’s the worst possible footing to start on.
Better to take the time to get your answer right.
So let the judge tell you when to answer. After you’ve filed a response, wait until the judge issues a court order listing a firm date for your answer.
That could take months. Use the time wisely.
Have you answered a complaint too soon? What damage did it cause in your case? Share in the comments below.
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Jacqueline Sproles says
Thank You! This service is very helpful
Sonja Ebron says
Great to hear we’ve been helpful, Jacqueline. We’re always looking for new article ideas, so feel free to share what you’d like to see here. Thanks!
Belinda says
Our opponent gave an answer too quickly and when she did, she “sold the farm” by opening up Pandora’s box.
Sonja Ebron says
Don’t you love it when that happens? Hope you were able to take advantage of their haste.
Daniel J. says
I filed my answer within the 20 days to respond. However, several months into the case the Plaintiff filed (and was granted) a “Motion to Substitute Party Plaintiff”. This threw me off a bit.
There was no amended complaint filed yet more than half of the statements and claims made in the original complaint no longer applied and couldn’t possibly be claimed by the new Plaintiff.
I filed a “Motion for Clarification” (asking if the complaint was being amended and who was representing the New Plaintiff) and a “Motion to Strike Irrelevant Documents” (requesting that documents filed with the original complaint that didn’t apply to the new Plaintiff be stricken from the record) Both motions were denied without explanation.
It did however give me plenty of justification to be granted the opportunity to amend my answers and affirmative defenses.
Sonja Ebron says
Thanks for the comment, Daniel. Looks like you’ve got quite a fight on your hands there. You’re going to need some help with civil procedure. Come chat with us (green button, bottom right) to see if we can assist.
Santi says
I had a lawsuit in federal court as Plaintiff Pro Se where the Defendant’s attorney were taking advantages of my legal ignorance & economic situation misleading the court to prevent me as Plaintiff Pro Se to complete discovery and going to trial. Because the court wanted to believe the Defendant’s attorneys before me as Plaintiff Pro Se and w/o completing the discovery, I was under the impression that there were some biases in my case. Specially, when the Defendant’s attorneys were granted under unfair circumstances a motion to “dismiss the case with prejudice” not matter what I said to the court. Consequently, I was emotionally devastated by the court action losing my faith in the legal system. For example, I lost about $150k by the Defendant illegal actions, I lost reputation/businesses and there were a lot emotional distress in the process. Because the court dismissed the case with prejudice when I have a good and unique case; and because there were some “hidden prejudices” in my case, I feel that I would waste my time if I appeal the case in a superior court. Beside the fact that I don’t have a lot money to afford an attorney to represent me in the appeal court. Can you please provide some improvement suggestions…? Thank you
Sonja Ebron says
Hi Santi, I’m sorry to hear your case was dismissed. I’ve been there and know how you must feel. I doubt there’s much to do besides appeal at this point, but I can’t recommend it.
Pamela Stanescu says
We filed a pro se appeal in the trial court (can’t afford a lawyer; public defender was uncooperative.) After over 20 days when we had no response, we called the clerk. She said the trial judge said the appeal had been filed incorrectly and that she was not allowed to tell us what was wrong. So, we filed a Notice of Appeal with Georgia Court Appeals. Appeal was returned stating we needed the trial court’s appeal decision unless it was an interlocutory or directive appeal. What do we do?
Sonja Ebron says
Hi Pamela, thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear your appeal was dismissed. Unfortunately we aren’t able to offer legal advice, and our platform isn’t very helpful for appeals. Wishing you the best of luck.