How to write an Answer to a debt collection lawsuit

An Answer is a short, formal document. It is not a letter, it is not an explanation of your finances, and it is not an apology. Here is every part of one.

1. The caption

Copy the top block of the complaint exactly: court name, county, plaintiff, defendant, and case number. Under the caption, title your document DEFENDANT'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES.

Getting the case number wrong is the most common filing error. Check it twice.

2. The responses

The complaint has numbered paragraphs. Your Answer responds to each one, by number, with exactly one of three responses:

• Admitted. Use for facts you know are true, such as your name and county.
• Denied. Use for facts you know or believe are false.
• Defendant lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations in this paragraph and therefore denies them. Use for anything you cannot personally verify.

The third response is the workhorse. You were not a party to the sale of your account, you have never seen the plaintiff's internal records, and you cannot verify how a balance was calculated. Saying so is accurate, and it places the burden where it belongs.

Silence is not neutral. In most courts, an allegation you do not deny is treated as admitted.

3. Affirmative defenses

After the numbered responses, list the defenses that fit your facts, each in its own numbered paragraph with one or two sentences of explanation. Common ones in debt buyer cases:

1. Lack of standing — the plaintiff has not shown it owns the account
2. Failure to state a claim — the complaint does not plead the elements
3. Statute of limitations — the filing deadline expired before suit
4. Failure to prove the amount — the balance has never been itemized
5. Improper documentation of assignment — the chain of title is incomplete
6. Inadmissible hearsay — the affidavit describes records the signer did not create
7. Arbitration — the agreement requires arbitration, if the plaintiff produces it
8. Accord and satisfaction, payment, or discharge — if applicable

Raise the ones you can support. A wall of boilerplate defenses that do not fit your facts dilutes the ones that do, and some defenses are waived forever if not raised now.

4. The WHEREFORE clause

A single closing paragraph:

"WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully requests that this Court dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint with prejudice, award Defendant costs incurred in this action, and grant such other relief as the Court deems just and proper."

5. Signature block

Your signature, printed name, mailing address, phone number, and email, with the date. If you are representing yourself, write "Defendant, Pro Se" under your name.

6. Certificate of service

A short paragraph at the end stating that on a specific date you mailed or delivered a copy of the Answer to the plaintiff's attorney at a specific address, followed by your signature. Courts take this seriously; an otherwise perfect Answer can be rejected without it.

Filing it

File the original with the clerk of the court named on the summons, by the deadline, by the method that court accepts. Pay the fee or file a fee waiver application. Keep a stamped or confirmed copy for yourself. Mail the plaintiff's copy the same day.

What comes next

Filing the Answer moves the case out of default territory and into litigation, where the plaintiff has to produce documents. Serve discovery next, while the case is young.