Answering A Complaint

How To Answer A Complaint:

  1. Identify ‘where’ (which court) and ‘when’ (your deadline) to file your answer.

  2. Set up the appropriate heading for your pleading (instructions and free templates below).

  3. Answer every allegation in the Complaint that has been filed against you (instructions below).

  4. (Optional) Prepare, if appropriate, your Affirmative or Negative Defenses to be included in your Answer (instructions below).

  5. (Optional) Prepare, if appropriate, your Counterclaim to be included in your Answer (instructions below).

  6. Complete the Relief section of your Answer (instructions below)

  7. Sign and Date your Answer (instructions below).

  8. Prepare a Certificate of Service, certifying that you ‘served’ a copy of your Answer to each party named in the Complaint (instructions below).

  9. Complete a Notice of Appearance, to notify all parties that you are representing yourself and where you can be reached (instructions below).

  10. Mail a copy of your Answer to the Court and to each party named in the Complaint.

Notice
I am not an attorney. This information is based on my personal research, observations and opinions. Laws vary from state to state. You are responsible for verifying the accuracy of any information you take from this site – and are liable for what you do with it.

Answering A Complaint

Answering a Complaint is easy – although it does take some planning and strategy. If you do it right, the truth is, not much will happen. But if you do it wrong, your answers can (and probably will) be used against you later.

Bear in mind, your Answer, no matter how perfect, won’t resolve the case. It’s just a necessary step in the process. There are ways to get out of a lawsuit early (or try to), but they require other, additional pleadings, which I’ll also talk about here.

Also, by answering the complaint, you’re agreeing (in most cases) that the court has jurisdiction over both you and the subject matter of your case. If you’re concerned about this, see my article entitled ‘Case Law: Jurisdiction‘ (in which case you could file a ‘Motion to Dismiss‘ or insert an ‘Affirmative Defense‘ into your ‘Answer‘ (I talk about this below). If the complaint was filed by an attorney, the chances of there being a jurisdictional issue are slight, but… you never know.

The best advice I can give you, is to apply the ‘less is more’ theory. This will require you to resist that very powerful urge to ‘explain’ every little detail. I get it; you’ve just been served with a lawsuit. You’re bursting with outrage. Mostly, you want to explain why the plaintiff is the real ‘bad guy’ here – and why your actions were perfectly justified. My advice: save it for your therapist. Never spill your guts in a pleading, because it’s really, REALLY easy to say the wrong thing.

Below is a step by step guide for preparing a proper Answer, followed by a ‘sample’ Answer, and finally, links to (free) forms that you can download and use to create your Answer. 

But before we begin, a question:

Can You Do This?

If you follow the instructions outlined here, the answer to that question is ‘yes.’

But should you?

I have prepared an article that weighs The Pros And Cons Of Representing Yourself but, very briefly; if you don’t currently have a great lawyer on standby, the risks involved in filing your own Answer are FAR LOWER than the risks involved in hiring the wrong attorney.  You only have so much time to Answer a Complaint, and you would be the one providing your answers to your lawyer anyway, who would then clean them up, if he’s any good (I’ve seen lawyers let answers slip by them that should never have made the cut). However, if you follow the directions in this article, there will be no clean up necessary. 

I’d like to say that Answering a Complaint is so easy that a monkey could do it, but I better add this disclaimer: if you’re the sort of person who believes you’re ‘special,’ and/or you can’t control yourself from ‘just saying one more thing,’ you’d be better off having a monkey do it.

A word of encouragement; I know there’s a lot of information here. I have spent more time on this article about answering a lawsuit (and the one for filing a lawsuit) than any other. There’s a good reason for this. Whether you’re filing a lawsuit or being sued, you need to make some decisions right up front. And to make good decisions you need information.  I’ve tried to anticipate what information that is, while simultaneously preparing you for what’s to come. The first time through, it’s going to seem like a lot. I recommend reading it several times at different sittings – until it starts to make sense. Absorb the information. Take yourself out of the emotional outrage you’re feeling and try to view this logically.   

Still here? Okay, let’s get started then.

1. Find Out Where And When

You MUST file an Answer to a Complaint that has been served upon you. If you don’t, you will lose by Default, which means that whatever the Plaintiff (the person suing you) is asking for, will probably be granted.

You only have so many days to file your Answer, depending on the type of case and location. Generally, the instructions for when and where to file your Answer are located on the Summons, which is one of the first few pages attached to the complaint. Most times the clock starts ticking the day you’re served (when you sign for it). However, some complaints are mailed. In that case, your time for answering probably starts on the day it was mailed. If you’re not clear on this, call the ‘clerk of court’ where the complaint was filed, and ask them how many days you have to respond. And don’t wait until the last minute. Get it in early.

2. Prepare Your Heading

The heading of a pleading identifies both the Court (where) and the Parties (who). This has already been figured out for you by the plaintiff. All you have to do is set up the heading of your pleading so that it looks like the heading in the complaint. As for the proper format, you can also get this from the complaint. And yes, the format is important. Don’t think you can get by with creating a ‘better’ style. I have downloadable forms below that cover the two most popular styles:


3. Answer The Allegations

The body of the pleading is spaced at 1.5 (in Word, go to the ‘paragraph’ section, and change it in ‘line spacing’ options. ‘Remove’ the extra ‘line space’ before and after paragraphs.

When answering ‘allegations’ in a complaint, less is more. Nobody pays attention to these answers unless you say something incriminating – which is why it’s best to keep it simple. I’m recommending that you limit your answers to a single word or phrase.

Answer with ‘Agreed,’ ‘Denied,’ ‘Unknown,’ ‘No Answer Required‘ or ‘Not Applicable,‘ like so:

             NOW COMES the Defendant, Jane Doe, without counsel, and answers the allegations in the Plaintiff’s Complaint, as follows:

1. Agreed.

2. Denied.

3. Unknown.

4. No Answer Required.

5. Not Applicable.

I also recommend that you answer honestly – especially if its something the Plaintiff can prove. A lawyer might disagree. My position on this is purely strategical – and perhaps a little idealistic. I genuinely believe that justice is worth the cost. But I also believe that ‘good’ people who ‘do the right thing’ are viewed in a much more favorable light – even when they make mistakes – than people who lie, show indifference or intentionally hurt others. The latter tends to get the book thrown at them, although it can take a very, very long time – during which they will abuse the system shamelessly. They might even win if they can get you to give up before justice finally gets around to making an appearance. I’m not trying to scare you. I believe that knowing what to expect will give you an advantage.

The plaintiff’s allegations should be answered numerically, with the number of your ‘answer’ matching the number on the corresponding allegation. Don’t skip any. 

Each new claim/section of a complaint usually begins with something like: 

‘The Plaintiff incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs into this section.’ 

I have seen this answered with ‘Not Applicable’ and ‘No Answer Required,’ both of which I suppose are fine, but I prefer the more precise reply:

‘The Defendant also incorporates by reference his/her answers to the preceding paragraphs into this section.’

Then resume your responses to the continuing allegations:

CLAIM I: Defamation

53. The Defendant also incorporates by reference his answers to the preceding paragraphs into this section.

54. Denied.

Sometimes, the allegations in a complaint contain multiple assertions, portions of which might even be true if not for the other part. An exaggerated example of this might be something like:

“The Defendant, knowingly, intentionally and with malice stepped onto the Plaintiff’s property.”

If you stepped onto the Plaintiff’s property, but did it without all three of the precursors (“knowingly, intentionally and with malice“), you can honestly answer that allegation with ‘Denied.’

Sociopaths LOVE trick statements that are packed with confusing adjectives (I refer to sociopaths a lot in this blog because there are so many of them in our judicial system). In his second lawsuit against me, the judge who sued me five times actually included an allegation that, once you removed all the adjectives (there were about 15 of them), left simply; “She… told the truth.” However, the adjectives describing how and why I told the truth made the correct answer to this: ‘Denied’ (he was trying to show ‘malice,’ which can support a defamation claim in certain cases where the alleged defamatory statements are true but serve no other purpose except to ‘damage’ the person the statement was about). So be careful with these allegations that seem harmless on the surface, but which are worded in a way that makes ordinary conduct seem unlawful. 

If answering with one word or phrase just doesn’t feel right, you can answer the allegation in parts. This is particularly useful when the allegation draws a legal conclusion, such as; “Massachusetts 93A provides relief for unfair and deceptive practices in business, and therefore the Defendant’s conduct as a principal officer in XYZ Company is liable under this provision.” There are two parts to this statement. The first is that Massachusetts has a law that provides relief for certain types of conduct in business, and the second is that the Defendant’s business activities are actionable by that law. If you have no knowledge of the law in question, you could answer ‘Unknown,’ but in this case, I don’t like that answer because it could suggest a careless or negligent attitude (the assumption is that you are aware of your obligations when you go into business). I don’t see the harm in agreeing with this allegation, provided it isn’t saying that you actually ACTED in the wrongful way that the law is protecting. If it is strictly a statement of law, there might be no harm in agreeing. And yet, more likely than not, there’s at least an implication of an admission of wrongdoing in there somewhere. The issue in this instance is that the plaintiff is drawing a legal conclusion, which means he is presenting the court with his own legal opinion about what relief the law offers – and your liability in that relief. Perhaps a different conclusion could be drawn. In any event, you are not obligated to agree with the plaintiff’s conclusion, even if it seems pretty straight forward. But you don’t have deny it either. Simply put, you don’t have to answer legal conclusions. So, in this case, I would reply with something like:

‘This paragraph sets forth legal conclusions to which no answer is required.’

And if there is a specific reference to alleged misconduct on your part included in the legal conclusion, you can add:

‘…but as to the conduct alleged, the Defendant denies any activities or conduct that would be actionable under this or any other statute.’

Do NOT get into details about what you or the Plaintiff has said or done at this time. Don’t even think about getting into third party details (he said/she said). Don’t talk about evidence and don’t make claims of ‘proof.’

In this section, you are simply denying or admitting what the Plaintiff is alleging. Period.

One last thing: In pleadings, never refer to yourself in the first person (‘I’ or ‘me’). Always refer to yourself as the ‘Defendant’ or, if there are multiple defendants, ‘Defendant + Your Name’ (ie., ‘Defendant Doe’). Also, capitalize titles like Defendant and Plaintiff when they are used to identify a specific person.

That’s it for the allegations. You’ll need to consider whether you want to add a Defense or Counterclaim to your Answer.  These involve strategy and planning.  I have added brief descriptions of both below (with links to in-depth articles if you’re interested). I recommend this reading. If nothing else, it will help you come up with a plan of action, so you won’t be winging it every step of the way (and possibly making foolish mistakes in the process).

But first, we’ll continue the instructions for the Answer itself. 

4. Your ‘Prayer For Relief’

Unless you agree with everything the Plaintiff is asking for in his or her complaint (this can be found in the ‘relief’ section at the bottom of their complaint), there is probably something you want from the court. Maybe you want the court to throw out all or part of the case. Or maybe you want to make a fair offer of settlement here and now (be careful with this one) . Always conclude your requests with ‘…and, any and all further relief this Court deems just.’

List your requests numerically. Unlike the previous section (your answers), where the numbers continued from each preceding section, you’ll start your ‘relief’ section all over again, beginning with the number 1. 

Keep in mind, this is just a formality. You’re putting your requests ‘on the record,’ so to speak. Neither the Complaint nor the Answer is going to actually be  ‘granted’ anything yet (unless you don’t file an Answer, in which case the Court will grant the plaintiff the relief they’re requesting by default). But aside from a default, all parties in a lawsuit are entitled to ‘due process,’ and that process has only just begun.

Your Relief section requires no title, and should look something like this (the actual relief listed is merely providing possible examples of what a defendant might request):

                   WHEREFORE THE DEFENDANT, John Doe, requests the following relief:

1. That the Court find against the Plaintiff’s Claims and deny the relief requested therein; 

2. That the Court dismiss the Plaintiff’s Claim II for failure to state a claim;

3. That the Court find in favor of the Plaintiff’s Claim I and grant restitution for the monetary value of the loss, which is $500; and

2. Any and all further relief this Court deems just.

5. Sign Your Answer

Generally, the defendant’s signature goes on the LEFT side of the page (the plaintiff is on the right), and contains the following information:

Dated:     January 5, 2019

 

DEFENDANT

 

___________________

John Doe

450 Friend Street

Boston, MA  12345

555-555-1234

This completes the minimum requirements for your Answer; but you’re not done yet…

 6. The ‘Certificate Of Service’

The law says (and it’s only fair) that you cannot send anything to the court without notifying all of the ‘interested parties’ in your case. 

Interested parties include everyone listed in the complaint. In most cases, this means all of the plaintiffs and defendants. 

The Certificate of Service is a brief statement to the Court, signed by you, to certify (attest to, testify) that you did, in fact, send a copy of your pleading to all of the interested parties. I like to include a list of the people I sent copies to, with their addresses, but many lawyers simply state that they notified ‘all interested parties at their ‘most recent address.’  You can take your cue from the plaintiff on future pleadings, but for now, err on the side of caution by being as specific as possible (if the complaint was ‘served’ on you by a sheriff or process server, it won’t include the standard ‘certificate of service’ that’s used with other pleadings).

The Certificate of Service should have a title, and include the following information:

When you’re finished, it should look something like this:

Certificate of Service

 

 I, Jane Doe, Defendant, certify that I caused a hard copy of this Answer to be mailed to the Plaintiff John Doe, by sending it to his attorney, John Smith, at the mailing address identified in the Complaint, and to Plaintiff Jane Doe, at her last known address at 123 Main Street, Boston, MA 12345, on the date indicated below.

Dated: 

___________________

Your Name Here

7. Prepare ‘Notice Of Appearance’

Assuming that your ‘Answer’ is your first contact with the court, you will need to ‘notice’ the court, and all interested parties, that you are acting pro se (representing yourself) and, as well, you need to tell them where and how they can contact you. This is a separate pleading so, unlike the Certificate of Service, it requires a heading. The heading on the Notice of Appearance (and every other pleading you file from here on out) will be identical to the heading you created for your Answer, except that the ‘title’ of this pleading will be ‘NOTICE OF PRO SE APPEARANCE‘ instead of ‘ANSWER.’ The title is normally the only part of the heading that changes with each pleading.

‘Pro se’ is italicized because its Latin for ‘in one’s own behalf.’

You only have to file this notice of appearance once, with your first pleading to the court. A copy must go out to the court and to all interested parties. 

Your notice of appearance should include the following information:

When you’re finished, the section beneath the heading should look something like this:

NOTICE OF PRO SE APPEARANCE

     I, Jane Doe, Defendant in the above referenced case, hereby enter my appearance with the Court to represent myself. If I decide to be represented by an attorney in the future, either my attorney or I will notify the court of the change.

   In representing myself, I understand that I must:

1. Notify the court in writing of any changes in my address,  phone number or email address;

2. Give or send copies of any papers I file with the court to every other party in this case. If another party has an attorney, I will give or send copies to that party’s attorney; and

3. File a certificate of service with the court swearing that I have sent the papers I am filing to all parties.

     All court papers may be mailed to me by [first class mail or email] at [mailing or email address].

Dated: 

___________________

Jane Doe
Mailing Address
Phone Number
Email Address (optional)

 8. (Optional) Add A Defense

You can choose, at this point, to include a Defense. A Defense is not mandatory; but if you don’t include it now, in your Answer, you may be prevented from raising it later.

The ‘defenses’ that are necessary now are defenses that you should know about now. This is for your benefit as much as the plaintiff’s. If you’ve got some legitimate way of ending this lawsuit now, you owe it to yourself and the plaintiff to put it out there, sooner rather than later. Otherwise, time and expense will be wasted litigating a case that should’ve been thrown out.  

A well thought out Defense has the potential to put an abrupt end to a case or, at the very least, it can bring about a quicker settlement. These days, defenses have lost some of their power because lazy attorneys are throwing in every defense under the sun, with no explanation of how (or even if) they actually plan to use them. And it isn’t hard to figure out why. All those defenses make it look like the lawyer did more work than he did – which impresses the client, who thinks; ‘Wow… my lawyer’s got this in the bag!‘ Essentially, the lawyer is making more money for building up a false sense of security in their client. 

A properly stated defense should not only make sense, but be convincing. It will put the plaintiff on notice, while hopefully giving him a cause for concern. This is one method for resolving cases outside of the courtroom. An improperly stated defense, on the other hand, can be stricken – meaning you can’t use it, even if it would’ve been legitimate had you explained it properly.

A quick way to tell if you have a defense: if the defense is legit, you’ll be able to explain how you intend to use it and it will make sense. 

I have written an in-depth article entitled ‘Answering With A Defense Basics‘ which I recommend you read if you think you might have a legitimate defense (if something about the case just doesn’t make sense). But first, here are some quick and easy facts about defenses:

Now, a little about the defenses themselves…and

Affirmative Defenses

‘Affirmative’ defenses are basically circumstances or provisions that protect you, even if everything the plaintiff said about you is true. I like to think of it like this: if the plaintiff’s allegations were bullets, the Affirmative Defense would be your bullet proof vest.

There’s a whole bunch of ‘preset’ affirmative defenses, many of which I have listed (with descriptions and relevant case law) in my post entitled ‘Affirmative Defenses.’ In a nutshell, the affirmative defense says; ‘I am protected from liability by a doctrine or law, or a principal of law.’

A popular example of an affirmative defense is ‘estoppel.’ Estoppel is a principal of law that challenges a person’s right to relief, based on something they did or said (or a court ruling), which overrides that right.  

The estoppel defense creates an obstacle (or barrier) to a legal right – by invalidating it. 

For example, let’s say you’re being sued for non-performance of a contract. If the person suing you has not fulfilled their obligations under that contract, they may have forfeited their rights under the Estoppel Defense. An example of this might be a contract that requires a service to be performed before a contractual payment is made. A failure to perform could justify a nonpayment under estoppel. However, this isn’t a given. It must be argued before the court, possibly by way of a Motion for Summary Judgment. I recently ran across a case similar to this, where a developer refused to pay a builder for work that did not conform to the contract ‘specs’. I was a little surprised when the court denied the estoppel defense in that case, but the court reasoned that the job had been finished and the property had been sold as planned; therefore, there were no damages to the contractor as a result of the builder’s failure to perform to the exact specifications that had been outlined the contract. In other words, the ‘benefit’ to the contractor had been received (the sale). Therefore, the court felt the builder was entitled to his benefit under the contract: which was the payment. Had the builder’s failure to follow the specs actually caused the contractor financial harm, I’m certain the estoppel defense would have achieved a different result in that case. And the ‘estoppel’ defense is just one of many affirmative defenses. The whole point of the affirmative defense – and everything you do in your case, for that matter – is to manipulate the lawsuit to your best advantage. Everything you do should support an overall ‘strategy.’ And you need a strategy – with or without an attorney – otherwise, your case will become a series of fires that you, or your attorney, will have to put out, languishing on and on, and ultimately ending like a game of craps: with a roll of the dice. Don’t think for a minute that a lawyer will make any genuine attempts to stop the bleeding. If anything, he’ll be looking for a larger vein to dip into. Find a solid (legal) strategy and set up a plan of action.  Everything you, or your lawyer does, should support that plan (this is especially true of the ‘discovery’ period, where lawyers can bill thousands upon thousands of dollars for completely unnecessary depositions, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here).  The Affirmative defense should play a part in your strategy. That could mean that not including the defense is wiser (especially if your paying a lawyer to throw in ‘everything but the kitchen sink’, which will inevitably result in Motions to Strike, which he then has to answer, etc.) . You need to weigh each issue and exercise balance. Here are a few things to keep in mind: 

You can even get a little creative with this, if it makes sense to do so. The law is a malleable thing, designed to adjust to all kinds of unique circumstances in support of justice.  There are as many solutions as their are problems. This is particularly true with affirmative defenses that seek a satisfactory resolution. I made a (kind of) affirmative defense/settlement offer in my answer to one of the five lawsuits the former Maine judge filed against me (it’s actually kind of ironic how much material he has provided for this blog). Anyway, the former Judge Nadeau was suing me for ‘defamation’ for writing a book about his ethics (or lack thereof). In my Answer (and every pleading thereafter) I ‘put it on the record’ that if he could produce any evidence of a false statement, I would 1) immediately correct that statement in the book, and 2) publicly acknowledge and apologize for the error. This ‘settlement offer’ did two things: first, it established that my intent (very important) was to tell the truth, and second, it offered to put the matter right if I made a mistake (I hadn’t).  Now, if the former Judge Nadeau had actually produced evidence of a false statement, wouldn’t this affirmative defense have hurt me? No. The worst case scenario was that some portion of his claim was true – which would have been discovered in any event. Depending on the ‘harm’ caused by the false statement, this affirmative defense might not necessarily have absolved me of all liability (although there are circumstances where it may have). However, it had established  my intent was to tell the truth, and also my willingness to ‘do the right thing’ in the event of an error. If you think about it, this ‘offer’ did nothing but protect me. In fact, if I had not gotten this on the record, and a false statement had been discovered, he might have been able to convince a jury that I did it on purpose – which could entitle him to a lot more money than a simple mistake would have. In this way, I was able to ‘protect’ myself while doing the right thing. 

So take a very close look at the Complaint that has been made against you. Is there a law or provision that would protect you in this case? Is there an ‘offer’ that you could make that would protect you in the event that you did screw up? Is there a ‘right thing’ you could do now, which would stop the bleeding on a misdeed that is adversely affecting someone? Think about it; if someone is saying, ‘this is hurting me,’ and you offer to immediately stop or change it, a refusal to accept that offer could actually undermine their claim. If you didn’t mean to harm someone, but did, it can save you in ‘damages’ to address it early on (if nothing else, it could eliminate ‘attorney’s fees and other costs’ that you might be liable for). Keep in mind: damages that involve ‘intent’ and/or a ‘cover-up’ can result in the amount being multiplied. 

 Negative Defenses

As stated above, the focus of ‘negative’ defenses is mistakes that were made in the complaint.  You see, there is a legal restriction to our ‘right’ to justice: the justice sought must be properly requested.  Let me reiterate:

If you don’t ask for it correctly, you forfeit your right to justice.

I don’t know if there’s a legal explanation for this somewhere. For the purposes of this article, I don’t care enough to research it. See; your issue right now isn’t to debate what is. Your issue is to use what is to your best advantage.  You’re going to see a lot of things on this journey that, if you’re anything like me, will provide lots of delightful anecdotes over drinks at your next dinner party.  However, don’t bring those issues with you to court.

In this case, we want to use this provision (or whatever it is) to your advantage. And the method for doing that is the negative defense.

Here again, my article about defenses (link below) goes much deeper into this topic, but perhaps the best example I can come up with off the top of my head is the ‘failure to state a claim.’ A failure to state a claim is just what it sounds like: the plaintiff’s claims don’t stand on their own merit. There are a number of reasons why this might be. Perhaps the plaintiff’s allegations don’t meet the minimal requirements for the claim he or she is connecting them to. Or perhaps there is some legal provision that prevents the plaintiff from getting the relief sought. For example, if the plaintiff’s claim is ‘defamation,’ but your alleged false statements are protected under, say, the ‘Anti-SLAPP‘ provision, the claim cannot get relief, and therefore could be dismissed (you would have to file a Motion to Dismiss).  Anti-SLAPP protects persons reporting crimes or misconduct, even if the person they reported is later found innocent. This provision was enacted so that people would not be afraid to report misconduct. Therefore, statements protected by the Anti-SLAPP statute would not be entitled to relief under the law, and the plaintiff’s claims (at least to the extent that they involve these statements) can and should be dismissed early on.

As in the case of the affirmative defense, the negative defense must prevail under the assumption that every word the plaintiff has alleged is true. At the risk of being redundant, I’ll say it again: truth and evidence do not come into it at this stage. That’s for a ‘fact finder’ (trial judge or jury) to determine at the proper time.  Again, this is to ensure that ‘due process’ is served. People are entitled to have the opportunity to prove their case – which includes their right to gather additional information that might help them do that (discovery).  

So here again, take good, hard look at the complaint – this time ignoring any ‘exaggerations’ and/or ‘lies.’ Does it make sense? Before deciding this, you’ll want to examine each of the claims as they are presented, and then compare them to the information I (hopefully) have on this site about the subject – both in my  ‘claims’ and ‘case law’ sections. If the claim is flawed, you may be able to end this with a Motion to Dismiss.

Many of the opinions I’ve expressed here (especially those relating to affirmative defenses and the potential for early settlement) directly oppose what many lawyers would tell you, but here again; you might want to consider who benefits the most when litigants dig in their heels against all logic. You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to hit $100K in legal fees – without anything of significance happening. If you had to bet $100K on your case right now – this very minute – would you do it? Are you that certain you’re in the right? Because if you’re hiring an attorney, that’s pretty close to how much you’ll be in for.

If you are in the ‘right,’ it is worth it to fight. There are a lot of sociopaths out there who use our courts to go after people for not other reason than that they know how much suffering a lawsuit can cause – and how most people will pay them off just to make the suffering stop. But they don’t stop after you pay them off. They just keep doing it to others. If the complaint against you is bogus and you know it’s bogus, then by all means, fight it. You’re not just helping yourself get justice. You’re balancing out the scales. You’re helping to keep our justice system just.

Ironically, a lawsuit involving a sociopath is the easiest of all the cases to win (even if the most emotionally draining). If ever there was a time to represent yourself, this is it. And that’s because the law is on your side. And the law rules. However, it can take time. And the laws won’t find you. You have to figure out which laws apply and use them to your advantage.  

Unfortunately, there are some terrible judges in our local ‘superior’ courts. Prevailing requires commitment, and the ability to both accept what’s happening and to deal with it logically and methodically. The strategy you build in these first few months will carry you all the way to an appeal if necessary – which you must win if your plan is supported by law. Hopefully it won’t go that far. But if does, you can look forward to this little light at the end of the tunnel: the appeals court is like a refreshing spring in the harshest desert. Where the local courts are manned by bored, disgruntled former lawyers who couldn’t cut it as attorneys (these judges makes less than half what a minimally successful attorney would make), the appeals court is filled with men and women who love the law. And it shows. They will not make a ruling that isn’t supported by law – because they recognize that the law is the unit by which they must measure the decisions made in the local courts. And guess what: they’re turning over those local rulings left and right.

I’m not saying you’ll have to take your case all the way to the appeals court. You will have many chances to use the law to create legal guidelines that will ‘encourage’ your local judge to make the right decision. But you’ll miss those opportunities if you don’t have a legal strategy. I know I’m harping on this, but it’s because I know it’s the pro se litigant’s only chance. Do the work now, and you’ll save yourself countless losses (both in court and emotionally), not to mention hours upon hours of unnecessary litigation and anxiety.

I encourage you to read my full article about defenses: ‘Answering with a Defense Basics‘.

I also recommend that you look over my article entitled ‘Claims At A Glance.’ This will serve two purposes. First, it might shed some light on any flaws in the plaintiff’s claims against you (which you should immediately incorporate into your strategy). Second, you might actually discover that you’re the one who’s entitled to relief here. This article is a must if you think you might have a legal basis for filing a counterclaim – even if it’s just for ‘costs’ for the inconvenience of being sued in ‘bad faith.’ 

And that brings me to my next point..

9. The Counterclaim

If you believe that you are the one who has been wronged in the matter discussed in the complaint, you may add a counterclaim to your answer. Your ‘counter’ claim (or claims) against the plaintiff must relate to, or arise out of, the same issue discussed in the complaint. If you don’t assert your counterclaim(s) here and now, in your Answer, you may not be able to do so later. 

The counterclaim is a lawsuit. It is generally ‘tried’ AFTER you get a ruling on the complaint, but ‘getting it on the record’ right up front allows both sides to prepare both cases in the one ‘process.’ Otherwise, the parties would have to go through the entire process all over again in order to give the counterclaim(s) its proper ‘due process.’ 

Like affirmative and negative defenses, the counterclaim is incorporated into the Answer. This changes the title of your pleading from ‘ANSWER‘ to ‘ANSWER AND COUNTERCLAIM.’

The counterclaim is located AFTER the allegations (and your defenses, if you included any), and BEFORE your ‘relief’ section. Each ‘claim’ in your counterclaim is concluded with a paragraph summarizing the relief you want, which is then added to your ‘relief’ section after your requests relating to the plaintiff’s complaint (for form, take a look at the claims in the complaint). 

Since your counterclaim is a lawsuit, I’m going to refer you to my post entitled, ‘Complaint Basics‘, for information on how to prepare proper claims (with step by step directions). This will help you with the content of your counterclaim (and provide you with tools for confirming whether or not you actually have a valid claim).

As to format, the counterclaim gets a section title, centered, usually bold and underlined, and usually typed in all capital letters, like so:

‘COUNTERCLAIM‘

Again, this section will be placed AFTER your responses to the complaint, and also AFTER any defenses you may have added.

Each statement/paragraph in your counterclaim is numbered, just as in the plaintiff’s complaint, beginning with the number 1.

So then, your ‘Answer and Counterclaim’ (aside from the main heading, which may be in a different style) should look something like this:

[YOUR STATE]

[YOUR COUNTY]

[Division] COURT

DOCKET NO: 12-345

Jane Doe

Plaintiff,

v.

John Doe

Defendant,

 

 

ANSWER AND COUNTERCLAIM

             NOW COMES the Defendant, John Doe, without counsel, and answers Plaintiff’s complaint as follows:

1. [Respond to each allegation in the plaintiff’s complaint as outlined in the directions above. Be sure to match the number of each response with the number of its corresponding allegation.]

    AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

1.  [Starting this section over with the number 1., listing each affirmative defense you intend to use, if any, with a brief description of how it applies in this case]. 

    NEGATIVE DEFENSES

1.  [Starting this section over with the number 1., list each negative defense you intend to use, if any, with a brief description of how it applies in this case]. 

DEFENDANT’S COUNTERCLAIM

                 In addition to the foregoing responses [and, if applicable ‘and defenses’], Defendant John Doe makes the following assertions:

1.  [Again starting with the number 1., list each allegation as outlined in my article entitled ‘Complaint Basics‘]. 

CLAIM I:   [Title of Claim] 

2.   [Picking up where you left off numerically above], start each ‘claim’ section with ‘Defendant realleges and incorporates the preceding paragraphs 1 through [whatever number you left off at]’.

3.   [Proceed with allegations relating to this claim.]

                   THE DEFENDANT requests an entry of judgment in his favor against the Plaintiff for [title of THIS claim]; granting the Defendant [a brief description of the relief you are requesting].

CLAIM II:   [Title of Claim] 

4.   [Picking up where you left off numerically above, repeat ALL the steps in Claim I (above) for each additional claim you are making].

                   WHEREFORE THE DEFENDANT, John Doe, requests the following relief:

1. That the Court DENY the Plaintiff’s Complaint, and the relief requested therein, against the Defendant; 

2.  That the Court find in favor of Defendant’s Counterclaims I and II, and grant the requested relief; and

3. Any and all further relief this Court deems just.

Date:

 

DEFENDANT

 

___________________

John Doe                                  

John Doe’s Address

John Doe’s Phone Number

Certificate of Service

 

 I, John Doe, certify that I caused a copy of the foregoing Answer and Counterclaim to be mailed to the Plaintiff’s attorney, Jack Smith, as identified in his Complaint, on the date indicated above.

_____________________________

John Doe

 10. (Optional) Motion To Dismiss

The Motion to Dismiss is a separate pleading which does not have to be filed with the Answer.

 

 11. (Optional) Motion For Summary Judgment

Summary and Article…

Answer checklist

 Now What?

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I FILE MY ANSWER?
What happens after you file your Answer may depend on the admissions or denials you
made in your Answer. Among other things, the plaintiff’s attorney might serve you with a
Motion for Summary Judgment, a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, or a Motion for
Discovery. For more information or for the proper form to use for an opposition to any of these
motions, you may consider consulting with an attorney or Volunteer Attorneys for Rural

SUMMARY JUDGMENT ARTICLE
Nevadans (VARN).

NOTE: whenever you’re ready, you can download a template for FREE

Answer (NO Counterclaim)

Certificate of Service

Notice of Appearance

Motion to Dismiss

Sample Answer

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ESSEX, SS.

[Division] COURT

DOCKET NO: 12-345

Jane Doe

Plaintiff,

v.

John Doe

Defendant,

 

ANSWER

             NOW COMES the Defendant, John Doe, without counsel, and answers Plaintiff’s complaint as follows:

1. Unknown.

2. Denied.

3. Agreed.

4. Not Applicable

 

                   WHEREFORE THE DEFENDANT, John Doe, requests the following relief:

1. That the Court DENY the Plaintiff’s Complaint, and the relief requested therein, against the Defendant; and

2. Any and all further relief this Court deems just.

DEFENDANT

 

 

________________________________              _____________________

John Doe                                                      Date

John Doe’s Address

John Doe’s Phone Number

Certificate of Service

 

 I, John Doe, certify that I caused a copy of the foregoing Answer to be mailed to the Plaintiff’s attorney, Jack Doe, as identified in her Complaint, on the date indicated above.

_____________________________

John Doe

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 

ESSEX, SS.

[Division] COURT

DOCKET NO: 12-345

Jane Doe

Plaintiff,

v.

John Doe

Defendant,

 

NOTICE OF PRO SE APPEARANCE

        I, John Doe, Defendant in the above captioned matter, hereby enter my appearance as a pro se party.

I understand that I am responsible for notifying the Court of any changes to my mailing address as well as any change in my status should I obtain representation by an attorney in the future. All court papers may be mailed to me by first class mail at the following address:

        John Doe’s mailing address

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 5(d), I also understand that I am responsible for serving upon all parties who appear in this action a copy of the documents I file, and also provide the Court with a Certificate of Service which attests to this fact.

DEFENDANT

 

 

________________________________              _____________________

John Doe                                                      Date

John Doe’s Address

John Doe’s Phone Number

Certificate of Service

 

 I, John Doe, certify that I caused a copy of this Notice of Pro Se Appearance to be mailed to the Plaintiff’s attorney, Jack Doe, as identified in her Complaint, on the date indicated above.

_____________________________

John Doe

Answer and Counterclaim Basics

Everything you need to know about answering a Complaint and filing a Counterclaim.

How To Find A Decent Attorney

A comprehensive look at the good, the bad and the ugly

The Pros And Cons Of Representing Yourself

Should you or shouldn’t you? What you’re in for either way.

To Sue Or Not To Sue

Find out if you have a case here.

Notice of Pro Se Appearance

What it is, and when and how to file it.

Affidavit

What it is and when and how to file it.

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