Upon the receipt of a “Civil Complaint” (summons with a copy of the complaint attached), an individual has twenty-eight (28) days to file a written answer disputing the amount the plaintiff is asking for.  This answer must be sent to the plaintiff’s attorney or to the plaintiff, if he/she has no attorney.  A copy of this answer must also be filed with the clerk’s office.  Once an answer is received by the court, the case will be set for a pretrial conference.  Civil pretrials are held on Friday afternoons only.  You will be notified in writing of the pretrial date.

If you do not dispute the claim, you do not need to do anything.  After the twenty-eight day time period has passed, the plaintiff will file for default judgment and will more than likely begin collection proceedings.  Any payment plans and/or payments must be sent to the plaintiff’s attorney or the plaintiff if there is no attorney.  Their address and phone number can be found in the complaint.

There are no forms available from the Clerk’s Office for this procedure.