How to Respond to a Summons

A summons is a legal notice issued by the court.

If someone sues you for any reason, you may receive a summons in the mail. A summons is a notification that you are being sued and states who is suing you, for what purpose and the amount. When you receive a summons, you have a limited number of days to respond. When you write a response letter to the summons, make sure you include the necessary information.

Instructions

1. Write a heading. At the top of the letter, include all of the details relating to the case. This includes your name and address, the plaintiff's name and address and the name and address of the court handling the case. If there is a court docket number or case number, include that in the heading as well.

2. Type a reply for each complaint listed on the summons. A summons lists each individual complaint of the plaintiff. A response should be listed individually for each one. Use bulleted items when preparing this list and begin each item with the word "Admit" or "Deny."

3. Include a short summary for each reply. After each reply of "Admit" or "Deny," prepare a short response explaining yourself for each alleged item. The response paragraph should clearly explain your side of the story and why you are pleading the way you are. Your response letter should have the same number of bulleted items as the number of paragraphs on the summons.

4. Add information. If there is other pertinent information that is not already stated on your response, add bulleted items with your explanations of what happened.

5. Photocopy the response. Keep the copy of the response and mail the original to the court listed on the summons. Return the response within the time frame stated on the summons. Normally, this time period is around 21 days.

References

• Michigan Legal Aid: Responding to Summons and Complaints in Consumer Cases
• US Legal: How do you File a Written Response to a Civil Summons?