The deadline of my summons is today:-(

[NoMunNoFun]

I am new to this forum, and I live in Los Angeles, California.

I am not sure if you have a "summons" or "I have been served" section, but this forum seemed the best place to ask my questions.

I have a lot of financial troubles, that I will spare you of. Mainly today is my last day to answer a summons for 15K I owe a 3rd party collection company/mega nationwide law firm. I know I should have answered my summons by now, but I was hoping to have enough money by now to work with a layer, but I still don’t have enough money. So I have to go it alone just to get my answer submitted to the court and the plaintiff.

Yet based on the information I had read since receiving my summons, I should at least answer the summons. So I am reading like a madman trying to work on at least answering this summons on my own and trying to get the filing fee waived. So it looks like there is information and forms online that I can complete and take to the courthouse. So that part sounds easy.

Yet can anyone tell me if there is anything in this forum or online on “how to answer a California summons”?

Since the plaintiff is a law office/3rd party collector (this company is a real vicious & nasty shark, based on the online feedback I read), I was wondering if I might have at least 3 more days to answer my summons (in this case, first thing Monday morning 07-18-11 or do these mega law firms get a default judgment as soon as the summons expires? Yet I figure if I do not have an answer filed with the courthouse and with the plaintiff by 5:00 p.m. today, the earliest the plaintiff could win the lawsuit as a default is 8:00 tomorrow morning, since I seems they have to go back to the court and get this judgment awarded by the judge . . . yet what I read, the plaintiff can go to the courthouse anytime they want after the summons deadline to get awarded a default judgment on an unanswered summons. Yet with our courts being so backed-up here in California, I don’t see them winning the default judgment that quick or does by not filing an answer to my summons by the deadline automatically become a default judgment without any further action from the court, here in California?

Lastly, since I have to provide a copy of my answer to the “plaintiff” (the 3rd party law office), would it be okay if I hand-delivered the answer to them, to save money. If I over-night the answer, it will cost me about $20, but if I drive the 15 or so miles to their office, it would only cost me about $8. As I think that it is not the court’s responsibility to get a copy of the answer to the plaintiff.

I am not sure if I want to go BK, I mainly want to see if I can work out a payment plan with the plaintiff.

[treehugger1]

I'm not sure about California, but I noticed that in my local court here in Oregon there are many "general denials." Or, you might check this over. I don't know how up-to-date this California form is.

http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/pld050.pdf

The form states it cannot be used for a verified complaint with a third party debt collector. I'm not sure if your complaint is verified. It appears that you can use the form if the complaint is unverified. A court clerk might be able to help you. This appears to be a process issue more than a legal issue.

This might help:

verification n. the declaration under oath or upon penalty of perjury that a statement or pleading is true, located at the end of a document. A typical verification reads: "I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, that I have read the above complaint and I know it is true of my own knowledge, except as to those things stated upon information and belief, and as to those I believe it to be true. Executed January 3, 1995, at Monrovia, California. (signed) Georgia Garner, declarant." If a complaint is verified then the answer to the complaint must be verified. [From the freedictionary . com]

The form does have reference to some California rules of civil procedure.

Please let us know how things turn out!

[treehugger1]

Here are the California rules for answering the complaint.

(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Complaint" includes a cross-complaint.
(2) "Defendant" includes a person filing an answer to a
cross-complaint.
(b) The answer to a complaint shall contain:
(1) The general or specific denial of the material allegations of
the complaint controverted by the defendant.
(2) A statement of any new matter constituting a defense.
(c) Affirmative relief may not be claimed in the answer.
(d) If the complaint is subject to Article 2 (commencing with
Section 90) of Chapter 5.1 of Title 1 of Part 1 or is not verified, a
general denial is sufficient but only puts in issue the material
allegations of the complaint. If the complaint is verified, unless
the complaint is subject to Article 2 (commencing with Section 90) of
Chapter 5.1 of Title 1 of Part 1, the denial of the allegations
shall be made positively or according to the information and belief
of the defendant. However, if the cause of action is a claim assigned
to a third party for collection and the complaint is verified, the
denial of the allegations shall be made positively or according to
the information and belief of the defendant, even if the complaint is
subject to Article 2 (commencing with Section 90) of Chapter 5.1 of
Title 1 of Part 1.
(e) If the defendant has no information or belief upon the subject
sufficient to enable him or her to answer an allegation of the
complaint, he or she may so state in his or her answer and place his
or her denial on that ground.
(f) The denials of the allegations controverted may be stated by
reference to specific paragraphs or parts of the complaint; or by
express admission of certain allegations of the complaint with a
general denial of all of the allegations not so admitted; or by
denial of certain allegations upon information and belief, or for
lack of sufficient information or belief, with a general denial of
all allegations not so denied or expressly admitted.
(g) The defenses shall be separately stated, and the several
defenses shall refer to the causes of action which they are intended
to answer, in a manner by which they may be intelligibly
distinguished.

[NoMunNoFun]

Thank you treehugger1. This gives me a lot to review this afternoon. Thank you so very much for providing so much detailed information as you have done.

I still am wondering do I have to worry about missing the summons deadline by about 3 days.