| Developed
by Ohio State Legal Services Association (OSLSA) in
conjunction with Richard Cordray, Treasurer September
2007 *********************************************
How to File an Answer to a
Foreclosure Complaint Without an Attorney
This information explains how to answer the
complaint filed against you so that you will have an
opportunity to tell your side in Court.
You may have legal claims of your
own against the person who filed the complaint against
you, and you may wish to include these in your Answer.
Such claims are called counterclaims. Writing down your
counterclaims is probably something that you would need
the help of an attorney to do properly. If you have any
claims against the person who sued you, you should
contact an attorney immediately. If you are low income,
legal services may be able to help you. Call
1-866-LAW-OHIO (1-866-529-6446) or go to
www.ohiolegalservices.org. If you are low income but do
not qualify for your local legal aid program, the Equal
Justice Foundation at 1-800-898-0545 may be able to help
you, or you can call your local bar association for a
referral.
Failure to Answer is Admitting
the Complaint
If you look at the SUMMONS, which
often is the first page of the papers that you received
from the Court, you will notice that it demands that you
Answer the complaint within 28 days after you are served
with the Summons. YOU MUST SERVE YOUR ANSWER WITHIN 28
DAYS . Serving your answer means that after you have
prepared your answer, you mail a copy of it to the person
who sued you. You must also file the original with the
court.
The page immediately after the
Summons should be the first page of the complaint against
you. Read the complaint carefully. Failure to answer the
complaint in writing within 28 days after you receive it
is an admission that what the complaint says is true and
the other person should win whatever they have asked for
from the Court. If you do not answer the complaint in
writing the law says you therefore agree that what the
complaint says is true and that the other side should
win. This means that the other side may be able to make
you pay money to them or take your house in foreclosure.
If this is the case, there is no reason for the Court to
have a trial, other than possibly a short hearing to
determine the amount of the money you owe.
If there is no trial, then you
will not get your day in Court. Also, if you do not serve
and file an Answer to the complaint, you may not receive
any further notice from the Court about what is happening
in your case until the person who has sued you tries to
collect his judgment by selling your house at a sheriff's
auction, garnishing your wages, seeking to attach your
personal property, or all of these options.
How to Prepare Your Written
Answer
Preparing a written Answer to the
complaint is easy. It can be nothing more than a letter
to the Judge. Certain information must be included in
your letter so that your Answer will be properly recorded
when it is received. This information can be found on the
Summons and from the top part of the complaint. You must
include:
Name of the Court2.
Name of person who sued
you (Plaintiff)
Your name (Defendant)
Case Number and Name of
Judge
You can write the information the
same way as it appears on the complaint.
You should address the Judge as
Your Honor. Then tell the Judge you are writing
about a lawsuit filed against you in the Judge's court.
You should then admit whatever it is in the complaint
that is true, and deny whatever is not true. If the
complaint filed against you has numbered paragraphs, as
most of them do, then go through the complaint paragraph
by paragraph, admitting what is true and denying what is
not true.
Whenever you deny something in
the complaint, you should also state briefly your reason
why you are denying it or any part of it. For example, if
the complaint says that you owe money but you know that
you already paid the money, then you should deny that you
owe the money and say that you already paid it. If you
are not sure whether something is true, you should write
that you do not know. Do not guess, and do not assume
that the person suing you must be right. It is better to
say you do not know whether something is true than to
agree with something you are not sure about.
At the end of the letter, ask the
Judge to dismiss the complaint. Then print your name,
address, and phone number legibly. In the lower left-hand
corner of the letter write or type cc: and write the name
of the attorney or person who filed the complaint against
you.
If possible, you should type your
answer. It is important for the Judge and the plaintiff
to be able to read what you have written.
How to Serve and to File Your
Answer
After you have prepared your
Answer, you need to immediately make 2 photocopies of it.
(Handwritten copies will not do.) MAIL one of these
photocopies to the attorney or person who filed the
complaint against you. Mailing is serving your answer.
Although you do not have to mail the answer by certified
mail, you may want to ask the post office to provide you
with a Certificate of Mailing, which proves you mailed
the answer on the date it was mailed, to the person to
whom it was addressed.
Within three days of mailing one
copy to the attorney (or the other person who filed the
complaint against you), take the original of your Answer
and your remaining photocopy to the clerk of the court
that served the papers on you. Be sure that you go to the
right court. Take the complaint with you to the clerk's
office and show it to the clerk to confirm that you are
in the right office. Then give the clerk both your
original Answer and your photocopy. Ask the clerk to
file-stamp the original and the copy and to give you your
copy back.
The clerk will then keep the
original, which will go into the Judge's file so that the
Judge can read it. The file-stamped photocopy will be
returned to you. Keep your file-stamped copy in a safe
place because it is your proof that you filed your Answer
in the place and on the date indicated in the file stamp.
It is like a receipt.
After you are done with all of
this, the Judge will have your Answer, the person who
filed the complaint against you will have a copy of your
Answer, and you will have a copy of your Answer with
proof that you have filed the original with the Court.
Everyone will know where you stand and that you are
fighting the complaint. The Court will then keep you
updated on what happens in your case, and the person who
filed the complaint against you will know where to send
any additional papers that he or she may file.
You must keep the Court and the
other side up-to-date on what your current address is and
what your telephone number is, if you have a phone
number. This is so that the Court and the other side can
continue to communicate with you. If you move, they will
not look for you. If any of the information you gave the
Court in your answer changes, send another letter with
the new information to the Clerk with the case number and
parties' names; make sure you include what was your
address.
Once you have filed your answer,
you may get other papers from the person who is suing you
and notices from the court. If you do not understand
these papers, or what will happen in court, you may want
to contact an attorney as previously suggested. If you
are not able to get legal help, the reference librarian
at your local public library may be able to help you find
useful legal self help information.
GOOD LUCK!
Developed by Ohio State Legal
Services Association (OSLSA) in conjunction with Richard
Cordray, Treasurer September 2007
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