Getting served with a lawsuit means someone has formally started a court case against you, and the clock is now running on your response. In federal court you have 21 days from the day you were served to file a written answer; most state courts set a similar window, typically 20 to 30 days. Miss that deadline and the plaintiff can win automatically, without a trial. Respond on time and you keep every option open.
Read the Summons and Complaint First
You will have been handed two documents. The Summons is the court’s official notice that a case has been filed against you. It names the court, states how long you have to respond, and warns that failing to respond will result in a default judgment.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4 – Summons It does not tell you what the case is about.
The Complaint does. It identifies the plaintiff (the person or company suing you), lays out what they claim you did or failed to do, and states what they want the court to order. Usually that is a dollar amount. Sometimes it is a court order requiring you to do something or stop doing something. Read every numbered paragraph carefully, because each one becomes something you have to respond to. Anything you fail to address in your Answer is treated as admitted.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8 – General Rules of Pleading
If you believe the Summons was never properly delivered, improper service is a defense you can raise. Don’t use that belief as a reason to ignore the case. The plaintiff can usually fix the problem and re-serve you, and your deadline may already be running.
Your Deadline to Respond
In federal court the deadline is 21 days after service.3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections When and How Presented State deadlines vary. Don’t guess. Find the exact deadline on your Summons and count from the date of service.
Weekends and holidays count toward the total. The one exception: if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the response is due the next business day.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time Courts enforce this strictly.
Need more time? You have two paths. The simpler one is to call the plaintiff’s attorney and ask them to agree to an extension. Many will, especially early in a case. The other is to file a motion with the court. If you file before your deadline expires, the court can give you more time for good cause. If the deadline has already passed, you have to show “excusable neglect,” which is a higher bar.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 6 – Computing and Extending Time Ask before the deadline runs, not after.
How to Respond
The standard response is a document called an Answer. It tracks the Complaint paragraph by paragraph: for each numbered allegation, you state whether you admit it, deny it, or lack enough information to admit or deny.5United States Courts. Pro Se 3 – The Defendants Answer to the Complaint You file it with the clerk of the court that issued the Summons and send a copy to the plaintiff or their attorney.
Affirmative Defenses
Your Answer is also where you raise “affirmative defenses.” These are reasons the plaintiff should lose even if their facts are true. Common ones include the statute of limitations (they waited too long to sue), payment (the debt was already paid), waiver (they gave up the right they are now asserting), and fraud.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 8 – General Rules of Pleading If you don’t raise an affirmative defense in your Answer, you generally forfeit it; you can’t bring it up for the first time at trial. When in doubt, include every defense that could plausibly apply.
Counterclaims
If the plaintiff did something to you in the same situation, your Answer is where you say so. A compulsory counterclaim, meaning any claim you have against the plaintiff that arises from the same events as their lawsuit, must be included in your Answer. Leave it out and you lose the right to bring it later in a separate case.6Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 13 – Counterclaim and Crossclaim A permissive counterclaim covers unrelated disputes; you can include it or save it.
Motion to Dismiss
Instead of answering the Complaint, you can sometimes challenge the case outright by filing a motion to dismiss. Under Federal Rule 12(b), the grounds include lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, improper venue, insufficient service of process, and failure to state a claim (meaning that even if everything in the Complaint were true, it would not describe a valid legal case).3Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 12 – Defenses and Objections When and How Presented A motion to dismiss must be filed before your Answer. If it is granted, the case ends (though the plaintiff can sometimes refile). If it is denied, you still get to file your Answer.
Watch out: personal jurisdiction, venue, and service defenses are waived if you don’t raise them in your first filing. Subject-matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim can be raised later.
What Happens If You Ignore the Lawsuit
Doing nothing guarantees you lose. When a defendant misses the response deadline, the plaintiff asks the court to enter a default judgment, which is a binding ruling in the plaintiff’s favor with no trial and no hearing on the merits.7Legal Information Institute. Default Judgment The court treats the Complaint’s allegations as true because you never contested them.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 55 – Default and Default Judgment
Once a plaintiff holds a judgment, they can collect. The usual tools are wage garnishment (a portion of each paycheck goes to the plaintiff), bank levies (funds in your account are frozen and withdrawn), and property liens (you can’t sell or refinance until the judgment is paid). The exact mix depends on state law, but all of it hits your finances directly and can continue for years.
If a Default Judgment Has Already Been Entered
The situation may still be fixable. Under Federal Rule 55(c), a court can set aside a default for good cause. Once the default has become a final judgment, the standard is tougher: you generally need to file a motion under Rule 60(b) showing something like excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence, or fraud by the other side, and for most grounds the motion must be filed within one year. Courts look at whether you had a legitimate reason for missing the deadline, whether you moved quickly once you learned about the default, and whether you have a real defense to the underlying claim. The longer you wait, the harder this gets. Act the day you find out.
Things Not to Do Right Now
Being served triggers a legal duty to preserve evidence. Every document, email, text message, photograph, and electronic file that could relate to the case must stay intact. Under Federal Rule 37(e), if you lose electronically stored information and the other side is harmed, the court can order measures to fix the prejudice. If the judge finds you destroyed evidence on purpose, the consequences escalate to an instruction telling the jury to assume the missing evidence was bad for you, or even entry of default judgment against you.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery
Do not contact the plaintiff directly. Casual remarks, apologies, and offhand admissions can all become evidence. If the plaintiff has an attorney, all communication goes through that attorney, or through yours. Stay off social media about the case. Posts are routinely admitted as evidence, and one frustrated comment can undo months of careful defense.
If You Can’t Afford a Lawyer
Talking to an attorney early is the single most useful thing you can do. An attorney can evaluate the claims, spot defenses you’d miss, and handle the procedural traps that catch most people representing themselves — affirmative defenses, counterclaim deadlines, and discovery obligations in particular.
If a private attorney is out of reach, there are other options. The Legal Services Corporation funds 130 nonprofit legal aid organizations across every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, and its website can route you to a local program.10Legal Services Corporation. I Need Legal Help Many courts run self-help centers that walk you through deadlines and forms for free. Law school clinics take some cases, particularly straightforward ones. Whatever your budget, don’t let cost be the reason you miss the deadline. Filing a basic Answer yourself, even an imperfect one, is far better than filing nothing.