The Anatomy of a Law Suit part 2 of 7
So you got a complaint in the mail. What's a business owner to do? One thing you can do is read it, notice it says you have 30 days (in California) to respond, toss it in a drawer and forget about it till 31 days later. But that's not recommended. What is recommended
is to make a note as to how (via mail? Save the envelope) you got it, what came along with it, and when you got it. Then call an attorney. I am all for self-help, but not in litigation.
In most states, once you are served (and just receiving the complaint doesn't mean you were served, which is why it's good to see an attorney), you have a set number of days to respond. And responding doesn't mean "writing them a letter." That does not protect your rights. And remember, the opposing attorney is not going to just drop the case because you say "Your client is lying and I'm telling the truth."
No, you have to respond to a complaint in a certain format and file your response, with a filing fee, with the court and serve your response on the other side before the deadline. If you don't the other side can get a default against you. A default means that you're out of the game, you're too late. You can file a motion to get that removed (sometimes) but that costs a lot more than filing the original response would have. Once the bad guys have a default, they still have to prove their case to a judge. But since you can't respond, the judge will pretty much take their word for everything. So a default is bad.
But then just filing the simplest answer might be bad too. As I hinted, maybe you weren't served properly. In which case filing the standard response is like admitting you were served.
Many clients think I should be able to just "squash" a law suit from the get go. They say (after the "write to their attorney" doesn't work) "well just tell the judge."
It doesn't work that way - they filed their complaint without a judge seeing anything, and you have to file your response without a judge seeing anything. No judge is going to hear the case for a while (that's why this is a 7 part post). There are lots of steps before a judge gets to hear anything.
The reason why it's important to see an attorney early is that there are some instances where you CAN get before a judge pretty quickly. It's not easy, and it does cost more than a regular "answer" or "denial." But the ability to squash that complain out the gate is well worth it, if the circumstances are right.
So what have we learned in this part 2 - don't toss your complaint in the drawer for 31 days.
