If you’ve been sued for a debt, you’ve probably heard someone say or read that you have to file a response to the summons and complaint. You also probably have no idea how to do that. That’s why we’re here. Just follow this guide and you’ll know exactly how to file any document in court, including your answer, or response to the summons and complaint.
Figure Out the Court Rules
Filing in court is really just a fancy term for delivering your documents to the courthouse. Every court may treat filing a little differently. So the first thing you need to do is figure out what your court’s rules are. Your state should have specific court rules that may outline how you should file a document. You can probably find your court’s rules on the court’s website. Your state will have rules for all the state courts, but your specific court (for example, the state court in your county or city) may have their own local rules as well.
For our example here, we’ll use the Federal court rules. Your debt collection case will most likely not be in Federal court, but your court will probably have a similar rule. The applicable rule in Federal court is Rule 5 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
“(d) Filing.
(1) Required Filings; Certificate of Service.
(A) Papers after the Complaint. Any paper after the complaint that is required to be served – must be filed no later than a reasonable time after service. But disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) or (2) and the following discovery requests and responses must not be filed until they are used in the proceeding or the court orders filing: depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents or tangible things or to permit entry onto land, and requests for admission.
(B) Certificate of Service. No certificate of service is required when a paper is served by filing it with the court’s electronic-filing system. When a paper that is required to be served is served by other means:
(i) if the paper is filed, a certificate of service must be filed with it or within a reasonable time after service; and
(ii) if the paper is not filed, a certificate of service need not be filed unless filing is required by court order or by local rule.
(2) Nonelectronic Filing. A paper not filed electronically is filed by delivering it:
(A) to the clerk; or
(B) to a judge who agrees to accept it for filing, and who must then note the filing date on the paper and promptly send it to the clerk.
(3) Electronic Filing and Signing.
(A) By a Represented Person – Generally Required; Exceptions. A person represented by an attorney must file electronically, unless nonelectronic filing is allowed by the court for good cause or is allowed or required by local rule.
(B) By an Unrepresented Person – When Allowed or Required. A person not represented by an attorney:
(i) may file electronically only if allowed by court order or by local rule; and
(ii) may be required to file electronically only by court order, or by a local rule that includes reasonable exceptions.
(C) Signing. A filing made through a person’s electronic-filing account and authorized by that person, together with that person’s name on a signature block, constitutes the person’s signature.
(D) Same as a Written Paper. A paper filed electronically is a written paper for purposes of these rules.
(4) Acceptance by the Clerk. The clerk must not refuse to file a paper solely because it is not in the form prescribed by these rules or by a local rule or practice.”
That was a lot, including a lot of legal jargon, but we can parse it out and figure out exactly how to file the document. Basically, the rule says you can file in the following way for any document after you receive the complaint:
- You should file any document you provide to the opposing attorney except for depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents, and requests for admission.
- If you file a document through the court’s electronic filing system, you do not need to include a certificate of service demonstrating that you filed the document.
- If you file a document in a way other than the electronic filing system, you need to include a certificate of service (which is just a statement at the end of the document telling the court to whom you sent the document, on what date you sent the document, and by what method you sent the document)
- You can file a document by delivering it to the clerk
- You can file a document by handing a copy to the judge, if the judge agrees to take it
- Attorneys must use the court’s electronic filing system with limited exceptions
- People representing themselves (that’s you!) may file by uploading a copy to the court’s electronic filing system if allowed by the court, and otherwise must file by delivering it to a clerk or judge
- You should sign the document before filing it
- Even if you mess up and your document is in the incorrect form, the clerk must still accept the document and allow you to file it
That’s not so hard! In the end, all we really need to do is deliver a copy of the document to the clerk.
Different Types of Filing
Different courts may have different ways of filing. You’ve seen a couple different methods in the Federal rule above. Some of the common methods of filing documents may be:
- Hand-delivering to the clerk
- Hand-delivering to the judge
- Mailing to the courthouse
- E-mailing to the clerk
- Using the court’s electronic filing system
It is also a good idea to keep a record of when you file a document. If you file electronically or through email, you’ll obviously have a receipt or record of sending the document. But if you file with a paper copy, you should always get a “file-stamped” copy of your document. This means that you should take two copies to the courthouse when you file, or if you file by mail, you should send two copies with a return envelope that includes a stamp. The clerk will accept one document, and then will stamp the other document indicating the date filed and will give or send the file-stamped copy back to you for your records. It is especially wise to keep any document you file because you may need it later in your case.
Call the Court Clerk
When in doubt, you should call the court clerk and ask how they accept filings. Court clerks are not allowed to give you any legal advice, so if you ask any specific questions about your case they will likely refuse to give you an answer. But they will usually help if you have general questions about how the courts work. For example, if you call the court clerk and tell the clerk that you need to file a document and don’t know how to do so, the clerk will likely give you your options.
Serve the Documents on the Opposing Attorney
Anything you file with the court should also be sent to the opposing attorney. If you provide any documents to the judge that the other side doesn’t see, you will have engaged in ex parte communications, which is against the court rules in most cases. So you want to make sure the other attorney receives a copy of everything you file. You can do this in most cases by simply mailing a copy of whatever you file to the other attorney. Before you do so, make sure you include a “certificate of service” at the bottom of the document, which states upon whom you are serving the document, when you are serving it, and how you are serving it. For example, a certificate of service might say: “I certify that I served this document on [Attorney’s Name] on [Today’s Date] by mailing this document to [Attorney’s Address].” Also make sure to sign your document before you send it!
Give Your Address to the Court and Opposing Party So They Can Serve You
Finally, for everything you file you should add your name, phone number and address to the top of the document. This will make sure that the court and the opposing attorney have the most current contact information for you. You want to make sure that you receive everything that the opposing attorney and the court file. The opposing attorney will likely file documents to which you must respond to avoid a judgment. And the court will likely file notices informing you of upcoming court hearing dates. In order to make sure you receive these filings the court and attorney will need your contact information.
Hopefully this guide has helped you learn how to file documents in your lawsuit. Filing is critical as it demonstrates to the judge that you have appeared in the case and are ready to defend yourself. It will in most cases prevent the judge from entering default judgment against you.
If you want more tips and information about how to defend yourself in a debt collection lawsuit, we have even more resources for you. Sign up for our email newsletter below to get it all sent right to your inbox.
