“Appearance courts” and “regular courts”

There is an awful lot of advice floating around the web these days, especially in communities of debtors trying to help each other out of their situation. One of the most frequent questions in such venues is this: “I’ve just been served with a summons. What do I do?!?” This usually comes with varying degrees of panic.

Unfortunately, the responsive advice usually consists of two things: (1) call the court to see if there really is a lawsuit against you, and (2) make sure you show up to your court date. This is not good advice. First, not all states require a plaintiff to file a lawsuit. I have discussed this before.

More importantly, not all summonses require you to show up in court. In an appearance court, a summons means you need to show up in court to answer the charges or allegations. If you are charged with a criminal offense, for example, you will need to appear in court. The same is true if you are sued in conciliation court, where no response is usually required before the court appearance.

If you are sued in regular district court, however, the appropriate response to a summons and complaint is an answer. An answer is a document in which the defendant admits or denies each thing the plaintiff claims (the plaintiff’s allegations). This usually means going carefully through the complaint and admitting or denying each thing in it. This is a technical process, and answering carelessly could get you into a lot of trouble later in the lawsuit.

So if you are served, make sure you know what is expected of you. If you try to show up in court when an answer is required, you may lose the lawsuit (and end up wandering around the courthouse for a while, looking for a hearing that does not exist). If you aren’t sure what to do, talk to an attorney. If you think you cannot afford an attorney, try contacting your local legal services or volunteer lawyers office.