George Simons
September 24, 2019
“I love getting sued for a debt” — said no one ever. This article will make the process a little bit easier and tell you how to answer a summons for debt collection in California.
Below, you'll find helpful topics on how to answer a summons for debt collection in the Golden State. This list includes information specific to filing in California, like state deadlines and forms.
30 days
40 days if the documents were served on someone else in your household or they were mailed to you.
The General Denial Form - Use this form if you disagree with the entire complaint.
Answer Form - Use this form if you disagree with only a part or agree with the entire complaint.
SoloSuit - Quick and easy.
Use these official instructions to fill out the forms.
You know you're being sued for a debt if you receive a document in the mail saying you're being sued for a debt. This document is called a Summons and Complaint. Normally, you only have 30 days to do respond to the complaint. You can respond with either an Answer document or a Motion; usually, you'll want to respond with an Answer document.
There are four steps to respond to a complaint.
Let's take a look at each one.
Answering the complaint can be scary, but with these instructions it will be simple. Just read the complaint and then decide how you want to respond to each numbered paragraph. You can respond in one of three ways:
Just choose one of these answers and write it into your Answer. If you choose “disagree” you can explain why you disagree.
In California's forms, you can admit (agree), deny (disagree), or deny because of lack of sufficient information (I don't know). Check the box for the appropriate answer.
“Assert affirmative defenses” means give reasons for why you shouldn't lose the lawsuit or why you don't owe the debt. Add the relevant defenses to your answer.
Here are some of the more common defenses we see:
These are a few of the many affirmative defenses. Being unable to pay the debt is not a legal defense to the debt.
This can be the most difficult part of the process. California courts require defendant debtors who don't have an attorney to file the answer by mail or in person. So here's what you need to do:
The address for both should be in the Summons and Complaint you received in the mail. The attorney's address should be on the top left of the first page. The court's address should be in the first two paragraphs.
Follow the official instructions here, under “Filing your papers in court”.
SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in California.
How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.
"First time getting sued by a debt collector and their attorney and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit and their services so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it Washington well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James
Start My Answer>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance
The statute of limitations in California on most types of debt is four years. This means that you can’t legally be sued for a debt more than four years after you made the last payment. But you can be sued for the debt; it is up to you to show that the statute of limitations has passed in your Answer. On judgment debt, the statute of limitations is 10 years. That means if you get sued for a debt, don’t respond and lose by default judgment, then the new statute of limitations will be 10 years; that’s a long time.
California Statute of Limitations |
|
Debt Type |
Deadline in Years |
Oral |
2 |
Written |
4 |
Promissory |
4 |
Open |
4 |
Credit Card |
4 |
Judgements |
10 |
Source: Findlaw |
SoloSuit makes it easy to assert the statute of limitations.
Let's consider an example. Willy has a credit card debt, and the last time he made a payment towards the debt was eight years ago. A debt collector tries to sue him for the debt. In this case, the statute of limitations has expired and Willy needs to bring that up as an affirmative defense.
So, here’s the review on how to answer a summons for debt collection in California.
You have to respond by these deadlines.:
You can use SoloSuit to respond.
To respond, do these steps:
Good Luck!
Guides for other states