Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Response to a handwritten response from a complaint a filed against and indi

If the defendant still has not filed a proper response with the court than you may file a default as soon as the 31st of september. I would file the default since he has already written you a letter stating that he is denying the contract which you cannot do until an answer has been filed. The default may be overturned in court, but if it is not than you may procceed to take a judgment against any real property as well as take out a lien on his bank account. If you need any assistance in persuing a default judgment please feel free to contact my office at 888-563-8529. I look forward to speaking with you. If, however, he has properly answered I can also assist in processing the intial discovery for you.

Re: Response to a handwritten response from a complaint a filed against and indi

Your question is directed to the laws of California and Alaska; I don't know whether the suit you filed is in the California courts, but this note will assume that you did. If the matter is pending in Alaska, then the rules might be very different.

You can't get a default judgment until 30 days have passed without an answer being filed with the court. If the defendant has admitted receiving the papers on July 24 and if they were properly served, your 30 days began on that date. However, if service was not proper the 30 days may not even have begun yet. You say that "summons delivery is dated 7/31/99," but this statement is too vague for me to know whether service was proper or not.

Getting a default at the first opportunity is generally not viewed favorably. If you pounce on the defendant this way, you should expect the default to be set aside once the defendant makes a simple motion seeking such relief. You can improve your position if you send them a reminder once the deadline has passed and tell them you will give them another two weeks or so to answer. If they haven't responded, you can take a default and be much more likely to keep it in force.

You don't say much about the contents of the handwritten note, so I can't say much about its effect. If it's a letter directly to you then it is not sufficient as an Answer; Answers must be filed with the court and must meet certain procedural requirements.

Based on the size of this case, I'm not sure you would be well-advised to try to litigate it on your own. If you wrote the complaint yourself, it is quite possible that you left out elements that an attorney would have included and which would substantially strengthen your position. You can proceed on your own if you want, but with so much at stake and so many opportunities to make a mistake, I think you would be ill-advised to do so.