Boom! You’ve been served. The clock is ticking.
What now?
The summons will include the date by which you need to respond to the complaint. Depending on in which court the lawsuit has been filed in Colorado, county court or district court, you have a couple of options. You can find out which court the lawsuit was filed by looking at the complaint. If the lawsuit was filed in county court, the summons includes a return date. This is the fixed date on which you either need to appear in court to talk with the creditor’s attorney about possible settlement terms, or file an answer by the return date. If the the lawsuit was filed in district court, you typically have twenty days in which to file an answer.
What is an answer? An answer is your response to the allegations in the complaint. Typically, the allegations in the complaint are set forth in numbered paragraphs. Under Colorado law, you must respond to each allegation. Generally, you will either admit to or deny each allegation. If you admit to all of the allegations in the complaint, the creditor’s attorney will most likely ask the court for judgment on the pleadings, which essentially means that you haven’t denied the debt and that the creditor is entitled to win the lawsuit.
You must file your answer with the court in which the lawsuit was filed, and you will have to pay a filing fee for doing so. It is not enough for you to simply mail your answer to the creditor’s attorney. If that is all you do, the creditor’s attorney will seek default judgment against you when the answer period expires.
This all sounds easy enough, I know. But it’s not, and if your answer is improperly prepared or you ignore it, you may find yourself liable for a debt that might not be yours. Always consider contacting a lawyer to help you.
Finally, you should know that bankruptcy will stop any debt collection lawsuit and keep debt collectors from garnishing your paycheck or bank account. The second we file your petition, debts collectors have to stop all collection activity.
If you’ve been served by a debt collector and would like to know if bankruptcy will help, we hope you’ll come in for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. You can make an appointment using our online scheduling system or by calling 303.331.3403 to set a time that’s convenient for you.