Answering a Federal Lawsuit
After being served with a federal lawsuit, individuals may have many questions about when and how they should respond to the litigation. Fortunately for defendants, federal courts typically have one uniform set of rules for responding to lawsuits rather than the varying rues between different state courts. Parties that are charged with answering a federal lawsuit should keep a few things in mind to ensure that their answer is timely and sets themselves up for success in the litigation.
Deadline to Answer
When answering a federal lawsuit, it is first important to determine the deadline by which an answer must be filed. Individuals generally have twenty-one days after they are served to answer a federal lawsuit. The day you are served is excluded when calculating the time by which an answer should be filed and served. Moreover, if the last day of the time period to answer a federal complaint falls on a federal holiday, parties generally have until the next day in order to file their answer. Not all holidays will extend the time period by which an answer must be served. Moreover, calculating the time by which an answer should be filed and served can be confusing to some. As a result, it is important to tell your lawyer the exact date you were served and the method of service to ensure that an answer is timely filed.
It should be noted that under certain circumstances, if parties agree to waive service of process, they may have up to sixty days to answer a complaint from when the request to waive service was sent. There are many reasons to waive service in certain circumstances other than receiving more time to answer a compliant, including not having the inconvenience of having someone interrupt someone’s privacy to delivery papers related to a lawsuit. An experienced litigation lawyer should know if waiving service of process makes sense in your circumstance.
Extending the Time to Answer
Another thing to keep in mind when answering a federal lawsuit is the procedure to extend the time to answer a complaint. By the time a person is served with papers related to a lawsuit, and a lawyer gets involved, there might be only a few days left to file an answer to litigation. As a result, it is not uncommon for parties to request more time to answer a complaint. Unlike in many state courts, the parties themselves cannot agreed to extend the time to file an answer. Rather, only the court can grant an extension of the time to respond to a complaint.
So long as the request to extend the deadline is made before the deadline expired, the party requesting the extension only need to prove “good cause” which is a low burden to show. If the request is made after the time to respond to the lawsuit has expired, then a party needs to show excusable neglect in order to receive an extension. Normally, a letter motion or a stipulation to be so ordered by the judge is the typical way for request an extension of the time to file an answer but parties and their attorneys should research whether a judge has their own individual practices about such requests.
Motion to Dismiss
Another option for answer a federal lawsuit rather than filing an answer admitting or denying the allegations in a complaint is to file a motion to dismiss. Motions to dismiss in federal court are in many ways similar to motions to dismiss that are filed in state court. Litigants need to file such motions before the time to respond to a lawsuit expires, and only certain grounds can be raised in a motion to dismiss. In addition, if the court denies a motion to dismiss, an answer must thereafter be served within the prescribed time period or a party may be entitled to take a default judgment against the party who failed to timely file an answer.
However, there are some important distinctions concerning federal motions to dismiss that parties should keep in mind. Firstly, federal courts generally only permit motions to dismiss in more limited circumstances than state courts. As a result, litigants and their attorneys should become familiar with rule 12(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure so that they are completely clear about the defenses that can be raised by a motion. Moreover, some states might have different standards about what can be considered in a pre-answer motion to dismiss. Generally, parties are stuck with the pleadings when making a motion on some of the grounds in rule 12(b) but litigants and their attorneys should become familiar with what can be produced in connection with the motion since this might be different than in state court. Moreover, federal courts may be more willing to hold hearings to decide evidentiary matters related to motions to dismiss since federal courts may have more resources than state courts so litigants and their counsel should be prepared to litigate a matter at a evidentiary hearing.
The Rothman Law Firm is experienced with federal litigation including answering a federal lawsuit on behalf of individuals and companies. If you are looking for an experienced New York and New Jersey lawyer to handle your federal lawsuit or other legal issue, please feel free to contact The Rothman Law Firm to request a free consultation.