Legal Articles

Served with a Lawsuit - Tips You Need

By The Florida Bar

Jun 7, 2004 - 1:16:00 PM

Lawsuits

The following information is provided by the Florida Bar under its Call-A-Law program:

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I HAVE BEEN SUED?

You may have been sued or you may be expecting a lawsuit. If so, you may be wondering what to do when you receive the legal papers. First, be sure to contact an attorney immediately. The longer you wait to see an attorney, the greater the chance that you will be disadvantaged.

A lawsuit begins when someone, called the "plaintiff" or "petitioner," files a document in court. It may be known as a "complaint," "statement of claim" or a "petition." The next step is to give you, the "defendant" or "respondent," a copy of the court papers and a copy of a document called a summons. This is called "service of process," and you may receive the papers through the mail, or by personal delivery (such as by a deputy sheriff).

The summons tells you how many days you have in which to file your answer or response or what you must do to protect your rights. If you do not file a written answer or response within that time limit or follow the other instructions given, the plaintiff or petitioner may proceed with the lawsuit anyway. Your failure to respond may be treated as if the claims in the lawsuit are correct, and you would be considered in "default." This may mean you have lost your right to defend the lawsuit. You may even have lost any right to be informed of the date and time of later court hearings against you in that case.

Other than a case in Small Claims Court or an eviction proceeding, the usual time limit for responding to a lawsuit is 20 days. The court may extend this time if before the end of the 20 days you ask for and are granted an extension of time, based on a valid reason. The time limit within which to respond to a lawsuit to recover possession of land or a home is 5 days. A response to that kind of lawsuit must, of course, be very prompt. In a small claims matter, no written answer need be filed, but you or your attorney must appear at the first pre-trial hearing, or you risk a default. Sometimes other types of legal proceedings will require earlier action on your part.

Any response or answer you file must be carefully worded so that all of your defenses may be presented in court. If you have a defense which you do not state in your answer, the court may refuse to allow you to present that defense later at the trial.

At the same time that you file your answer, you may wish to file a "counterclaim." A counterclaim is just like a complaint or petition, but it is filed by the defendant against the plaintiff. The same rules for complaints must generally be followed for a counterclaim. The counterclaim will state your reasons why you should recover damages or other relief from the plaintiff.

Certain defenses may be good ones but you may not know about them. For example, the plaintiff may have waited too long to sue you. The failure to sue within the proper time limit is a valid defense. There may be many other defenses which apply to your case. The best way to make sure that all of your rights are protected is to contact an attorney.

If you do not have an attorney, call The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service at 1-800-342-8011, or the local lawyer referral service or legal aid office listed in the yellow pages of your telephone book.