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[Music] hi i'm attorney eric lewis of lewis legal services in indianapolis today we're going to talk about the not so fun topic of debt collection lawsuits if you're watching this video i'm guessing that you've probably been sued for collection of debt and if that's the case the most important thing that you need to know whether you hire a lawyer or not is that time is not on your side the clock is ticking so before we begin i want to say that this video is not a substitute for in-person legal advice i'm providing just a little bit of guidance here to help you understand this process and your next steps in tackling this lawsuit and as always my guidance applies for the most part based on indiana law now i'm going to walk you through the very basics of what you need to know about responding to a debt collection lawsuit people are usually surprised to learn that unlike on tv a lawsuit doesn't really say that it's a lawsuit on its face in indiana most lawsuits begin with what is called a summons and complaint there are several ways for a summons to be served to you but the most common is by a sheriff's deputy bringing a copy out to your residence they're supposed to make an effort to make personal service literally in person copy and hand but sometimes all they do is leave it taped to your door so don't be surprised if you find paperwork outside rolled up with a rubber band that's your lawsuit okay you've been sued so now what from the day that the lawsuit paperwork is delivered to you you have 20 days to respond with what is called a responsive pleading in most cases the proper responsive pleading and most common written response response is called an answer in this video i'm not going to go into detail about the other options and that's why you may need a lawyer to review your specific situation to determine what is the proper response but your answer is a written response that you should say or rather that should say anything and everything about the complaint that you found to be inaccurate wrong misleading anything that you dispute or a response to something the plaintiff has stated as an allegation that you simply can't verify based on your personal knowledge you need to file this response with the court where the lawsuit is pending and serve a copy to the plaintiff's lawyer both within 20 days now if you fail to timely file a response within 20 days the plaintiff can ask the court to enter a default judgment in their favor a default judgment basically just gives the plaintiff exactly what they asked for in the complaint once the plaintiff has a judgment they can move forward with trying to get paid and they can do that by doing such things as garnishing your wages freezing your bank account judgment in indiana is an automatic lien against real estate that you own in the county so you always want to avoid getting a judgment against you if possible working out a settlement if possible all right so i want to take a quick minute to point out a difference in format that you might come across if the lawsuit you received is from a small claims court or county court hearing small claims matters the court will often set a date that you need to appear in court and that would be on the face of the notice of claim that you received small claims cases are more informal matters with relaxed rules and evidentiary standards in marion county there are nine different township courts that handle small claims matters other counties have circuit and superior courts that hear small claims cases you can always tell if you're proceeding as a small claims case by looking at the case number and seeing that s c in the middle all right in small claims cases you don't have to file an answer but you need to be ready to appear in court on the date and time stated on the notice in most courts that hearing is going to be just an initial hearing to determine if you want to proceed with a trial or not and keep in mind there are no jury trials in small claims cases so if you get a notice of claim and you want a jury to hear your case you have to request a jury trial and you have to file that request within 10 days of service of the notice then the case can be transferred to another court to be set for a jury trial and in indiana you have the right to have your case tried by a judge or jury even in civil matters alright so the question i always get is can you work out a settlement with the plaintiff and not go to court the answer of course is maybe again with or without a lawyer working out a settlement and defending yourself in court are two different processes you can be in the middle of working out an agreement but you still need to meet all court deadlines and hearings until a final resolution of the matter is made in writing and the case is dismissed the problem and really mistake that i see people make sometimes is they think they're working out a settlement with the plaintiff so they don't file an answer or respond to court hearings and then the settlement talks break down for one reason or another and the plaintiff simply pursues getting a default judgment against the person so keep in mind you always want to make sure you're defending yourself in court whether again whether you have a lawyer or not and i can't stress this enough be mindful of deadlines even if you don't have a lawyer the law in indiana is that you are held to certain legal standards and not having a lawyer is not an excuse that the law recognizes now i understand that getting sued for anything can be a stressful event and for some people the thought of going to court can be paralyzing but with a little knowledge and help from a lawyer who's attentive to your case you can get through this all right well that is it for today i hope you enjoyed this video and i also hope uh that it helped you understand where to start in what is no doubt a stressful situation all right if you have any questions contact my office leave a comment below and as always thanks for watching