Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

Re: Incorrectly Summoned

This occassionally happens to people who have common names eg john smith - I would suggest that you contact an attorney ASAP and do not let the time pass on the summons or they will take a default against you and that will cost you more money down the road to get the matter cleared up!

An attorney should be able to assist you with this matter relatively inexpensively.

If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact me directly at (734) 944-2269

Happy Holidays,

Geoff Lahn, Lahn, McDonagh, and Assoc.

Re: Incorrectly Summoned

From what your message states, it appears that you have been served with a summons and complaint in a civil lawsuit. That means you have been sued. You do not indicate what Court the case is filed in, but the summons should indicate on it how long you have to answer the summons and complaint in writing, or where and when you need to appear if the case is in small claims court.

If you do not defend the case in the time allowed, you will be defaulted. Being defaulted constitutes an admission of the matters in the summons and complaint, even if they are not true.

For this reason, I would suggest in the strongest possible terms that you contact a local attorney to represent you as soon as possible, and within the time allowed by the summons. If you clearly are the wrong person with the same name, your attorney should be able to work this out with the other lawyer without too much expense. You will probably not be able to recover the cost of hiring your attorney, but that cost should be far less than if you are defaulted. Unless the case is in small claims court, where neither side is represented by a lawyer, I would not recommend attempting to represent yourself.

Please be forewarned that lawyers often do not work much over the holidays, but that the time for answering the lawsuit continues to run. For that reason I would suggest contacting a local attorney today.

I will not be in the office the rest of the week, and am therefore not available to represent you in this matter. I will be checking my email in between should you wish to reach me.

Re: Incorrectly Summoned

As other attorneys on the BBS have indicated to you, do not wait! You want to avoid a default from being entered. I am available to answer your questions and assist you if necesary over the holiday season. Please contact me at www.lawgreg.com.