The Short Answer
When a complaint is filed against you, you have 30 days to file a written answer with the Clerk of Court in the county where the complaint was filed. Your answer should mirror the format of the complaint — matching the header information exactly and responding to each numbered paragraph by admitting, denying, or stating you lack sufficient information to respond. You'll also need to file a Certificate of Service proving you sent a copy to the plaintiff or their attorney. Filing a proper answer buys you time and keeps you from losing the case by default judgment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZD3JCsEyqY&feature=youtu.be
After a complaint is filed against you, you have 30 days to file an answer to that complaint. There are many generic forms that can be found that will help you to do this. If you use the internet to help you, make sure it is a reputable website that you are getting the information from. As a reminder, if you are planning on filing bankruptcy, your bankruptcy attorney does not represent you in this lawsuit so they cannot help you write your answer unless the agree to do so in a separate contract.
The top part of your answer should look a lot like the top part of the complaint. It should have the state and county that the complaint was filed in, which court, District or Superior, and the case number. Make sure that all of this is exactly how it appears on the complaint. The other thing that needs to be included there is the case number that is listed on the complaint. This is very important that you put the correct case number, because this is what will link the complaint and answer together.
The body of the answer will have numbered bullets just like the body of the complaint. You will either admit, deny or explain you neither admit nor deny because more information is needed. You will do this by lining your answers up numerically the same way they appear in the complaint.
Make sure that you sign and date the answer with the date that you are intending to get it filed with the Clerk of Court. You will also need to prepare what is called a Certificate of Service. This basically states you certify you filed your answer with the court and have also mailed a copy to the Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s attorney. This also must be filed with the court when the answer is filed. You will take both of these documents to the clerk of court in whatever county the complaint was filed and tell them you need to file an answer to a complaint. They will get it filed and give you a copy that has their stamp on it. You will need to mail a copy of this to the plaintiff’s attorney that is listed on the complaint. Doing all of this will buy you about 30 days to figure out what you want to do to remedy this situation.
Key Takeaways
- You have 30 days from the date a complaint is served to file your written answer with the Clerk of Court in the correct county.
- Your answer must include the exact same court, county, case number, and case caption that appears at the top of the complaint.
- Respond to each numbered paragraph in the complaint in order — admit, deny, or state you lack sufficient information to admit or deny.
- A Certificate of Service must be filed alongside your answer, certifying that you mailed a copy to the plaintiff's attorney.
- Take both documents to the Clerk of Court, get a stamped copy for your records, and mail a copy to the plaintiff's attorney listed on the complaint.
- Your bankruptcy attorney does not automatically represent you in a separate civil lawsuit — that requires a separate agreement.
Attorney Insight
The mistake I see most often is people assuming their bankruptcy filing automatically handles a pending civil lawsuit against them — it doesn't work that way. Filing bankruptcy triggers the automatic stay, which halts most collection actions, but your bankruptcy attorney's representation is limited to the bankruptcy case itself unless you've separately contracted them to handle the civil matter. If you ignore the complaint entirely and miss that 30-day window, the plaintiff can get a default judgment against them — and in North Carolina, while creditors generally can't garnish wages based on a judgment, they can pursue other remedies like liens on real property. Answer the complaint, buy yourself time, and then talk to an attorney about whether bankruptcy makes sense for the bigger picture.
