How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection in Nevada

Chloe Meltzer | March 11, 2024

Legal Expert
Chloe Meltzer, MA

Chloe Meltzer is an experienced content writer specializing in legal content creation. She holds a degree in English Literature from Arizona State University, complemented by a Master’s in Marketing from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

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Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

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Attorney from George Mason
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Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

Summary: You have 20 days to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in Nevada. To respond, you should draft and file an Answer to the Summons and Complaint. You will have to pay a filing fee to submit your Answer to the court. Respond to your Nevada debt lawsuit in minutes with the help of SoloSuit. Keep reading to learn more.

Being sued for debt is never fun for anyone. Unfortunately, it is common because millions of Americans are suffering from debt. If you cannot pay all of your debts you may need to decide which debts you want to prioritize. Even if you know that you are in default, it is never a happy day when a debt collection lawsuit is served to you.

If you have been served with a debt collection lawsuit it will usually come in the form of a Summons and Complaint. In this situation you are considered the defendant in a case, and you have responsibilities to attend to.

If you have never been sued before then you may not know what to expect. Most likely, you aren't planning to hire an attorney if you are already in debt. The best thing to do is to educate yourself on your rights and respond to the summons properly.

In the state of Nevada, you must prepare, file, and serve an Answer in response to the complaint. This is how to respond to a Summons for debt collection in Nevada.

Respond to a NV debt collection lawsuit in 15 minutes with SoloSuit.

About debt collection lawsuits in Nevada

In Nevada you have 20 days to file an Answer with the court after you have been served with a debt collection lawsuit. This lawsuit will include the “Summons and Complaint” which is essentially an explanation of what you are being sued for, and when you need to appear in court.

Being “served” with a lawsuit is in reference to how you were given the notification of a lawsuit. This might be in person by a process server or through the mail. In the stack of paperwork you will receive information about when you need to reply by, and how to file your answer. It is essential that you respond to the deadline because it will be enforced. If you do not respond by the 20-day deadline, you will be given an automatic judgment.

How to answer a summons for debt collection in Nevada

1. Draft an Answer to the Summons and Complaint

Filing the answer is the same as filing a formal reply to the court. You will also need to send a copy to the attorney of the debt collector or creditor who is suing you.

The Complaint will have various numbered paragraphs. In your answer you will need to reply to each paragraph or allegation in the complaint. You can either admit or deny responsibility. If you deny it, you can do so because you feel you do not have enough information to be able to admit it.

When it comes to a debt collection case you may find anywhere from 10 to 30 paragraphs. You can respond to each paragraph differently. Be aware that you have 20 days to respond to the summons and complaint. If you do not file an Answer, you will then have a default judgment placed against you. This can lead to the creditor or debt collector being able to garnish your wages or take money directly from your bank account.

The best way to respond to a debt collection lawsuit is to deny everything. You can ask the debt collector to prove your side instead.

Make the right defense the right way with SoloSuit.

Look into affirmative defenses

Affirmative defenses are those which are reasons why you believe the opposing side does not have a case against you. When you respond in the Answer you will need to list your affirmative defenses. After you respond you can no longer bring them up. Common affirmative defenses include:

Debt does not belong to you
The contract was previously canceled
The statute of limitations has expired (laws that put a deadline on how long you can be sued for debt)
Debt has been satisfied
Debt was partially paid
You co-signed but never were fully informed of your rights

It is good to note that being unable to pay a debt is not a defense to a debt lawsuit if you signed a contract stating you would pay it back.

File the answer with the court

After the Answer has been created, you have responded fully, and clarified your affirmative defenses, you can officially file your answer with the court. If you do not file it properly then it will be a waste of your time.

How to file your answer:

Print two copies
Mail one copy to the court
Mail one copy to the attorney of the plaintiff

You should find the address for the attorney on the Summons and Complaint you received in the mail. You will also need to pay a filing fee that may be anywhere from $51 to more than $200, depending on the court your case is in.

SoloSuit files for you and help you calculates court filing fees.

Statute of limitations on debt in Nevada

The statute of limitations on debt is a limit for how long you can be sued for a debt. It is one of the best affirmative defenses to a debt collection lawsuit. If the statute of limitations has expired it means that you can ask the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the lawsuit is time barred. You will still owe the debt, but you cannot have a default judgment be placed against you.

In Nevada statute of limitations for credit card debt is four years. For written contracts, there is a statute of limitations of six years.

The following table further outlines Nevada statute of limitations for different types of debt:

The table below outlines the Nevada statute of limitations on different types of debt:

Statute of Limitations on Debt in Nevada
Debt Type	Deadline
Credit Card	4 years
Medical	6 years
Auto Loan	6 years
Student Loan	6 years
Mortgage	6 years
Personal Loan	6 years
Oral Contract	6 years
Judgment	6 years
Source: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 11.190

Note that it's your responsibility to bring up the statute of limitations in your case. If your debt is old, be sure to include this information in your Answer as an affirmative defense. The judge will not do the research for you, but if you can prove the lawsuit was filed after the statute was up, your case will most likely be dismissed.

Now, let’s look at an example of how to win your debt collection lawsuit in Nevada.

Example: Mario is being sued by LVNV Funding for a $2300 credit card debt in the Clark County Justice Court in Las Vegas, NV. After investigating the debt, he learns that he hasn’t taken any action on the account since 2016. This means that the case is past the statute of limitations on credit card debt in NV, which is only four years. Mario uses SoloSuit to draft and file an Answer to the lawsuit and raises the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. He has to pay $71 to file his response, but it’s worth it. The court ultimately decides to dismiss LVNV Funding’s collection case because of the time-barred nature of the debt.

Use the Nevada statute of limitations on debt as a defense in your lawsuit.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

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.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was 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

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