Depends what type of legal papers you got served with. Here are some of the more common types of legal papers. If you want to hire an attorney to help you, our Utah attorneys can help you respond to these legal papers and others. Just give us a call.
Summons and Complaint
You are getting sued. If you don’t file an answer to the complaint, a default judgment will be entered against you. In other words, you will lose the case. The answer is usually due in 20 days, sometimes 30. The summons and complaint will tell you the courthouse at which the answer needs to be filed. You’ll also need to serve a copy of the answer on whoever prepared the complaint. That information should be at the top of the first page, on the left hand side.
Three Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate
Your landlord is trying to evict you. You must act fast. You get only 3 days to either pay your rent or move out. Either way, you may get sued in court shortly after.
Writ of Garnishment
You’ve already been sued and lost. Now the creditor is trying to collect. The garnishment may be addressed to your employer, your bank or another party. What the creditor is trying to do is to get the third party to divert any money owed to you to the creditor. So if your employer is the third party, your employer will pay the creditor, not you. If you think the garnishment is improper, you get 10 days to request a hearing with the judge. If you don’t meet that deadline, the garnishment is deemed proper.
Writ of Execution
You’ve already been sued and lost. Now the creditor is trying to take one of your assets to satisfy the judgment. You get 10 days to request a hearing. If you miss the deadline, the execution is deemed proper and the creditor will auction off your assets and apply the proceeds to the judgment.
Subpoena
You are a witness in a case. One of the litigants or the courts want you to show up at a certain place and time to testify about what you know. Sometimes subpoenas only require you to produce a copy of documents in your possession. You’ve go two choices. Show up as required or file a motion to quash. If the time is inconvenient, you might be able to call the attorney issuing the subpoena and see if you can change the time.
Restraining Order
Someone went to court and got an order from a judge. The order prevents you from doing something. Usually, contacting another person. Carefully read the order because it will tell you exactly what you are not allowed to do. If you carefully read the order, it will also give instructions on how to fight the order. Usually, you need to file papers with the court explaining why the order should be changed or dismissed. In the meantime, you’ll need to obey the order.
Motion for Summary Judgment
You’re in the middle of a lawsuit. The opposing party is going to the judge and trying to convince the judge that the case is a slam dunk. The case is so obvious that no trial is needed. You need to file papers with the court explaining why the case isn’t a slam dunk. If you don’t file the papers, you’re almost guaranteed to lose.