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Answering a Summons and Fighting Your Lawsuit

The first and most critical part to winning your credit card lawsuit is to answer your summons. Below is an outline of the steps involved in answering your summons, and initially challenging your lawsuit. Additionally, there are sample documents used in winning cases.

  • Make sure that you thoroughly read any court instructions that are attached your the summons.

  • Verify how much time you have to reply to your summons. Most courts only allow 30 days for you to respond. It is advised that you check with the court to determine what the time limits are for your specific case.

  • Read and answer the complaint line by line. You can find more information about how to do this below and in the Defendant’s Package.

  • File a notice to appear along with your answer to the court’s clerk. The clerk’s information can be found on the summons. Be sure to keep a copy for your own records.

  • File a motion to dismiss in lieu of an answer, if possible. Refer to your local court rules to check if a certificate of service is required along with the motion or whether it should be filed separately. It may also help the lawsuit if a ‘written instrument’ (credit card agreement) was supposed to be attached to the summons and it wasn’t. Check the rules in your state for more information.

  • Refer to your court rules and check under Interrogatories, Admissions and Request for Documents to see if your court allows you to serve the plaintiff after commencement of the action. Rules differ state by state. Some courts require a request for the documents while others don’t require a motion to the court.

  • On the same day as the answer is filed, mail off discovery documents via certified mail requiring a signature by the plaintiff.


If the state allows it, use a motion to strike the affidavit of debt if it pertains to the complaint.


Answering Credit Card Debt Complaint


At the top of the complaint, you may something similar to this the following:

The Plaintiff is the Assignee of ____XYZ_________ bank.
The Defendant is indebted to Plaintiff

Below this header there may be numbers listed. Each number is a separate complaint that must be answered individually.

Please see the graphic below for a visual example of how to do this:


Sample Answer to Credit Card Debt Summons



NAME OF PLAINTIFF HERE
Plaintiff,

v.

YOUR NAME HERE EXACTLY AS LISTED ON SUMMONS
Defendant


Case No:
CASE NUMBER ANSWER


AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Now comes Defendant, _________________, who denies the following paragraphs of Plantiff’s complaint:

  • Defendant denies the allegations contained in Paragraph 1 of the complaint as Defendant is without information or knowledge sufficient to form an opinion as to the truth and accuracy of alleged assignments and entitlements.

  • Defendant denies the allegations contained in Paragraph 2 as there is not, nor has there ever been any agreement, written, oral or implied with the Plaintiff and Defendant.

  • Defendant lacks knowledge about the truth and therefore denies allegations contained in Paragraph 2, Plaintiff has failed to provide Defendant with any kind of account numbers or documentation for alleged debt.

Affirmative Defenses were listed here

I had 23 Affirmative Defenses listed. List every single Affirmative Defense. Even if it makes no sense to you, put it down. If you don’t you could lose the opportunity to use it.

WHEREFORE, Defendant prays that the court take nothing of Plaintiff’s complaint by virtue and dismisses the complaint.

SEE ALL AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE:Click here



DATE WENT HERE
___________________________

MY NAME WENT HERE

MY ADDRESS WENT HERE


Additional Tips to Challenging Debt Complaint


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

  • Verify if a copy of the credit card should have been attached to original complaint. If this is a requirement, and it’s not attached, you can file a motion to strike the affidavit.