Served with a debt collection lawsuit in California? What to do first?

When a debt collector files a lawsuit to collect a credit card debt or an online loan, they are called the Plaintiff. The lawsuit begins with the filing of a Complaint. The Complaint states the Plaintiff’s claim as to why you owe them money and how much.

When Plaintiff files the Complaint, the court date-stamps the document and returns it to the Plaintiff which then must give you notice of the Complaint. This notice is called Service and you are referred to as the Defendant.

A process server will come to your residence or place of work and give you a copy of the Complaint. You have 30 days from that date - not the earlier filing date stamped on the papers - to either settle the case or file a responsive pleading in court and mail a copy of your response to the Plaintiff, thereby notifying them that you are disputing the Complaint. If the Complaint is served on an adult co-occupant of your residence or someone in control of your workplace - for example, an office receptionist, or the like,- you have an extra 10 days to respond.

Your response is typically an Answer, if you wish to dispute Plaintiff’s claims in the Complaint. If you do not wish to dispute Plaintiff’s claims, you can also settle the case - that is, come to a written agreement about the Plaintiff’s claim. If you settle, a Notice of Settlement should be filed to inform the court of the settlement and to protect you from the entry of a judgement by default, for failure to timely respond..

The key thing is to make sure you respond. You don't want a judgment to be entered against you by default. The numbers of defendants who do nothing when they are served with a lawsuit and suffer default judgments. Collecting default judgments is debt collectors' bread and butter. It's how they get rich. And once they get a default judgment, they are much less willing to negotiate a discounted settlement.

If you have any questions, give us a call at (877) 320-2380. No charge. No Obligation.