Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Hi. I am a Missouri attorney out of St. Louis County that handles debtor representation as part of my practice.

Depending upon the amount alleged that you owe in the petition and the jurisdiction (court) that the case was filed in, you may be required to file an Answer to the petition. An Answer is a legal document that needs to be filed with the Court, in which you raise any specific legal defenses that you may have available. In order to obtain discovery, or copies of the documents that will disclose the amount owed, the original creditor, and more, it is necessary to file formal discovery requests. Both the Answer and the discovery requests are typically prepared by an attorney. There are strict time limitations for filing the Answer. If the Answer is not filed in the proper amount of time, the party suing can be granted an automatic judgment against you for the full amount that they allege that you owe. Also, if you do not raise a specific legal defense in your Answer, you will be barred from raising it at a later time.

There are various legal defenses that we raise in collection suits, when representing debtors. More detail would be needed to determine if you have these potential defenses and how this suit can be defended.

Also, an Answer needs to be prepared as soon as possible, because there are strict deadlines for filing it with the Court.

I hope this helps, to some extent at least. For convenience, I can be reached directly by e-mail at [email protected]. Thank you.

NOTE: This answer is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship or privilege between the user and the attorney responding.