How Do I Respond to a Court Summons for Being Sued by a Credit Card Company?

Responding to a summons requires technical legal action.

A summons is a formal notification to appear in a lawsuit. The plaintiff, which is the credit card company that filed the lawsuit, has an obligation to personally serve the defendant with a copy of the summons and the complaint. The defendant, or the person served with the summons, then has various options for responding to the summons and complaint.

Instructions

1. Review the complaint to determine whether you have any defense in regard to the allegations of the lawsuit. If it's undisputed that you owe the money claimed by the credit card company then it may not be worth your time or effort trying to fight the lawsuit.

2. Contact the attorney representing the plaintiff, or the credit card company. The attorney who filed the lawsuit may be able to offer you a settlement agreement to avoid a lawsuit. The attorney's name and contact information should be listed on the top of the front page of the summons.

3. Negotiate a settlement agreement, if possible. Lawsuits are expensive for credit card companies. Accordingly, credit card companies are usually willing to accept a reduced payment, even payment over time according to a structured plan, in exchange for not having to incur the legal fees necessary to prosecute the lawsuit.

4. Prepare a formal legal document called an "answer," or "answer to complaint." The answer responds to each of the individual allegations of the complaint and allows you to tell your side of the story by raising any defenses that you may have to the complaint. State courts or court websites may provide fill-in-the-blank forms that you can use for this purpose.

5. Hire an attorney if it becomes necessary you for you to file an answer and defend against the lawsuit filed by the credit card company if you have a legitimate defense against the complaint. Although attorney representation is required for a business entity in a lawsuit, an individual is always free to represent himself without the help of an attorney.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have no defense against the lawsuit filed by the credit card company, it's probably in your best interest to attempt to negotiate a settlement agreement. Negotiating settlements with a credit card company --- or a collection company that now owns the debt previously held by the credit card company --- is typically a routine process. You simply must initiate the discussions and ask for a settlement. You may have to communicate with the attorney for the credit card company or collection agency, but the attorney may refer you to an in-house settlement negotiator instead.

• If it becomes necessary to hire an attorney, think of the attorney fees as an investment. If an attorney can save you some money that you would otherwise have to paid to the credit card company, you'll come out ahead even though you paid expensive attorney fees.

• Don't ignore the lawsuit. When you receive a summons, you have a choice to defend yourself in the lawsuit or simply give in to the credit card company. If you don't file a formal answer, the credit card company automatically obtains a default judgment against you. The creditor can then enforce that default judgment in a variety of ways, including seizing your bank account, foreclosing on or repossessing your house or other property, or garnishing your wages directly from your employer.

References

• "Represent Yourself in Court"; Paul Bergman and Sara Berman; 2010