When a person intends to sue (a debt collector) in a Justice or Small Claims Court and the court instructs the Plaintiff to send the complaint to the Defendant and wait anumber of days for response BEFORE filing. . . DOES THE PLAINTIFF SEND THE "FORMAL" COMPLAINT THAT THE PLAINTIFF WILL ACTUALLY BE FILING AGAINST THE DEFENDANT? OR DOES THE PLAINTIFF SEND A LETTER STATING THAT IF THE DEFENDANT DOESN'T PERFORM WHAT THE PLAINTIFF DEMANDS IN THE PRESCRIBED NUMBER OF DAYS, THEN THE PLAINTIFF WILL BE FILING A FORMAL COMPLAINT? I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEND THE FORMAL COMPLAINT TO THE DEFENDANT A "MOMENT" BEFORE I HAVE TO. I HAVE ALREADY SENT DEMAND LETTERS AND HAVE WAITED THE 10 DAYS MY COURT REQUIRES. RESPONSES, PLEASE. THANKS, KELLER
I believe what you are alluding to is the complaint has to be served to the defendant, and they have X number of days to respond to the complaint or appear in court to answer the charges. I do not think you have to send a preliminary threat to sue. Some courts require arbitration before you actually appear in court (DC does this for me) in order to lessen the burden on the court, but I don't think this is what you are referring to. You can always call the clerk of courts and ask them the exact procedure so that you comply with all the courts requirements (I would do this if I were you...it can help quite a bit.) By the way proper service is important. Make certain you comply or you may find your case tossed out before you say "Good Morning, Your Honor". -Peace, Dave
