Being served with a lawsuit is one of the most stressful events a person can experience. The documents look complicated, the legal language is dense, and the clock is already running. The most important thing you can do in the first 48 hours is not panic — and not ignore it.
This guide walks you through exactly what to do, in the correct order, to protect your rights and fight your case.
Before anything else, determine exactly when your response is due. This is calculated from the date of service — the date the lawsuit was officially delivered to you — not the date you read it.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(a)(1), you have 21 days from the date of service to file your Answer (or a motion in lieu of an Answer). If you were served by mail, add 3 days. If you waived service under FRCP 4(d), you have 60 days from the date the waiver request was sent.
State answer deadlines vary widely. Common timeframes are 20–30 days, but some states have shorter windows for specific case types (landlord-tenant cases, for example, sometimes have 5-day response windows). Look up your specific state's rules — the court's website or the summons itself will often state the deadline.
The complaint is the document the plaintiff filed to start the lawsuit. Your Answer must respond to it paragraph by paragraph, so you need to read it closely before you write a single word of your response.
As you read, note the following:
The Answer is your formal written response to the complaint, filed with the court. It is not a narrative of your side of the story. It is a structured legal document that accomplishes three things:
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(b), a defendant must specifically deny each allegation or be deemed to have admitted it. A general denial of the entire complaint is only permitted in specific circumstances. Deny specifically. For allegations that have some truth to them, you can deny in part: "Defendant admits that [partial fact] but denies that [the rest]."
If you genuinely don't know whether an allegation is true — particularly allegations about the plaintiff's internal state of mind or their damages — you can and should state "Defendant lacks sufficient information or belief to admit or deny this allegation and on that basis denies it." This preserves your right to contest the point at trial.
Your Answer must have a caption matching the complaint exactly: the court name, the case number, the full names of all parties, and the document title ("DEFENDANT'S ANSWER TO COMPLAINT"). Use the exact case number from the complaint — do not modify it.
Affirmative defenses are legal arguments that defeat the plaintiff's claim even if everything they alleged is true. They must be raised in your Answer or they can be waived. Think of them as your legal shields — you need to raise all of them up front, even if you don't intend to rely on all of them at trial.
Common affirmative defenses in civil cases include:
If you believe the plaintiff owes you damages arising from the same events, you may be able to assert a counterclaim — essentially, you sue them back in the same proceeding.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 13, a counterclaim is compulsory if it arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim. If you fail to raise a compulsory counterclaim in your Answer, you may be barred from bringing it in a separate lawsuit later. A counterclaim is permissive if it arises from a different transaction — you can bring it in this case or separately.
Raising a counterclaim transforms you from a purely defensive posture into an offensive one. It can also increase settlement leverage. However, it expands the scope of the litigation and your workload. Weigh the strength of your counterclaim and the resources you have to litigate it before deciding.
In federal court, pleadings must comply with FRCP Rule 10: each claim or defense must be stated in numbered paragraphs, each limited to a single set of circumstances. Use 12-point font (typically Times New Roman or Courier), double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Check your local court rules for additional requirements — many districts have specific page limits for Answers.
File the original Answer with the court clerk (in person, by mail, or electronically if your court's e-filing system allows pro se filers — many federal courts now do). Pay any required filing fee, or submit a fee waiver application if you qualify. Keep a copy of everything you file, stamped with the court's file date.
After filing, you must serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff's attorney (or on the plaintiff directly if they are also pro se). For answers and most pleadings filed after the complaint, service by first-class mail to the attorney's address of record is sufficient under FRCP 5. Include a certificate of service at the end of your Answer confirming this was done.
Filing your Answer doesn't end your immediate obligations — it begins the active phase of litigation.
Within 14 days of the parties' Rule 26(f) conference (which typically happens shortly after all parties have appeared), you must provide Initial Disclosures — the names of witnesses you may use, a description of documents you may rely on, a computation of any damages you're claiming, and any relevant insurance information. Failure to make timely initial disclosures can result in evidence being excluded at trial.
The court will typically set a scheduling conference — either in person or by phone — to establish the case schedule. This is when the scheduling order gets set (or the court issues it without a conference in straightforward cases). Enter every date from the scheduling order into your tracking system immediately.
ProperResponse tracks your deadlines, stores your documents securely, and keeps a log of every activity in your case — so nothing falls through the cracks as your litigation moves forward.
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