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Lawyers and Lawsuits

Lawsuits

When served with a complaint, what is the legal responsibility of a defendant?

A defendant must file a response to the complaint—usually within 30 days—called an answer. The answer responds to each and every allegation contained in a complaint. The defendant must admit, deny, or respond that he or she does not have sufficient knowledge to answer the allegation. Many times defendants will admit basic information in a complaint like the parties’ names, the court’s jurisdiction (sometimes) and a few of the underlying facts (such as plaintiff worked for the defendant) but deny the substance of the allegations and the legal claims.



A lawsuit document that begins legal action is called a “complaint” (iStock).
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