How do I file a pro se answer to a lawsuit?

Answer 1

An answer (defense) would be whatever proof the defendant has that the lawsuit is not valid. The response to the summons is not the venue for explaining the defendant's personal situation, such as job loss, illness and so forth. Unfortunately the law does not consider such circumstances as being a valid defense for not paying a debt. In most states failure to respond means the defendant will lose the case by default and the plaintiff will in all likelihood be awarded a judgment for the amount of debt or damages plus legal costs and applicable penalties. You may file an answer by copying the case caption to your own paper, that is the part at the top that says wht court it is in, who the plaitniff and defendant are, and the C.A. number assigned by the court, if there is one on your complaint. Then, simply go down the numbered paragraphs in the complaint, and either admit what the sentence or paragraph says, deny what it says, or say you are without sufficient knowledge to admit or deny the paragraph. You must respond to each individually numbered paragraph in the complaint in one of those three ways. That's it. BUT, be careful because certain defenses must be raised in the answer or else they are waived and lost. The most important ones are statute of limitations, and failure of service of the complaint on you. There are other defenses as well that must be raised, but these are of the most important. You shoudl try to take the answer to the court house and ask for the clerk or prothonotary, and tell them you want to file the answer and they can help you. check with the bar association, there are always lawyers who will do these things for free.

Answer 2

The party involved should contact the clerk of the court where they wish to file suit. For example, most cases that are self representation are small claims issues. The forms and instructions for filing in small claims can be obtained from the clerk or office of the clerk of small claims in the appropriate jurisdiction. The term "sue" is a very general one, so the answer is probably more complicated than you'd like. If the amount of money your suing for is relatively small (less than a few thousand dollars in most areas), than you can file a claim at a small claims court, get a court date, and have your day in court. If the amount is larger than that, you should probably consult an attorney in your area; most attorneys offer a free consulation and that is probably the best place to start.

Answer 3

Court procedure and legal requirements will vary from state to state. Some courts have optional forms that you can use. Here is an example form California: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/documents/982115.pdf. In most cases, it is better to have a custom document prepared by an attorney that asserts all of the appropriate defenses. Check with a local law library for the procedures in your area. If there is a law school in your community, it may have a program by which law students, under the supervision of professors, assist lay people with their legal problems; you may want to check into that. Also, if you qualify by income, community legal aid societies may help.

If you choose to represent yourself, the key to preparing an answer is to keep it responsive to the allegations of the complaint. That is, respond individually to each of the numbered paragraphs of the complaint with an express admission, denial or statement that you cannot admit or deny due to lack of knowledge (if your rules of procedure allow this). You may also want to include a catchall statement to the effect that "all allegations not expressly admitted are denied".

You must also assert your "affirmative defenses", if any, in the answer. These are factors which, if proven, may excuse or ameliorate whatever liability is alleged against you by the Plaintiff. For example, if the suit is based upon negligence in causing an auto collision, an affirmative defense might be comparative or contributory negligence (whichever theory your state adheres to). Another might be that another party, not made a party to the pending lawsuit, was the proximate cause of the Plaintiff's damage, or that the claimed cost of repair to the Plaintiff's car was neither necessary nor reasonable. The point is, that you must raise these defenses in the answer or else they may be considered to have been waived. Remember that you have the burden of proof at trial of proving the defenses upon which you want to rely.

It is extremely important that the answer get filed within the time allowed by law, which is usually shown on the summons that accompanies the complaint. If the answer is late, you will be considered in default and the allegations of the complaint will be considered to have been admitted. While it is often possible to have the default set aside, doing so requires a request the court (by filing a written motion) setting forth a reasonable and truthful excuse. Many jurisdictions also require that the motion assert the basics of your defense to the lawsuit so as to see that setting aside the default will not be a waste of time (that is, that there are genuine issues of law or fact for the court to decide).

It may be that you also have a claim back against the Plaintiff. If that claim arises from the same transaction or occurrence as the original complaint, you will need to assert it along with your answer as a "compulsory counterclaim". If you do not, the law of your state may deem it waived. There also exist "permissive counterclaims" which, although against the same person/entity that sued you, arise from different transactions or occurrences. Those may be asserted in the context of the pending action, or may be brought as separate actions before the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations.

Needless to say, copies of everything that you file need to be sent to the Plaintiff's attorney (if represented) or directly to each Plaintiff (if not represented). The originals get filed with the court.

Answer 4

If, at this most basic of responses to a lawsuit, you have to ask how to answer it, you REALLY should consider retaining an attorney.

On the other hand, if you have decided to do it pro se (yourself) you need to visit a law library and study up on civil procedure.

Answer 5

We cannot provide a law school education. You should contact an attorney who specializes in the area of law covered by the complaint.

The defendant may represent themselves in any civil suit if they so choose. However, that is not always advisable. The defendant will needs to use the proper filing forms for the type of case that is being adjudicated. Usually such forms can be accessed online for the state in which the suit is being heard. If that is not an option the defendant may contact the clerk of the court where the lawsuit was filed for information on forms needed.

Basically the defendant states his defense against the chargesoutlined in the summons.The defense muststateall theasserting denials andinclude facts that supportsaid claim. ALL denials (affirmative defenses) must be included in the answer at the time it is filed. Any information not included will NOT be accepted later.

*The above is a generalization of the procedure and should not be assumed to be all inclusive regarding the matter. Laws and procedure differ from state to state and therefore it is highly recommended that a defendant inany civil action outside of small claims obtain legal representation.

Answer 6

Use the info that you will find by clicking on the below link. Proceed to the link on the linked page to find an example answer form.