Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Missouri

Re: Breach of Contract

If you fail to file an answer and/or appear at the court, a default judgement may be taken against you. You may ask for a continuence, and submit Discovery Requests to the Plaintiff, as long as they comply with the civil rules.

You may ask for an extension of time to file your answer, if you have grounds. Those grounds can be unfamiliarity with the subject matter of the suit, or dificulty accessing the records you need to determine whether you dispute the allegations. These such extensions are rarely needed, but often granted where they are.

If you file an answer denying the allegations and appear at the docket listed on your Summons, then the court will give a defacto continuance in almost every case, by setting another docket call for afuture date. The courts would rather that parties resolve their dispute with the minimum or court time.

You can then submit any Discovery requests that are allowed by law. The Plaintiff can submit requests to you too. In my practice, it is rare that a Breach of Contract case get back before the court in less than 30 days, where there has been general denial, and any Discovery requests. In fact, 60 days or more seems to be the norm in many jurisdictions. If at the second docket call, you or the Plaintiff indicate that Discovery is ongoing, the courts often set athrid docket call date, which would extend the case another 45-90 days. After that the court may likely push for a resolution, and urge the pciking of a date for trial.

There are many flaws in the civil court system in Missouri. Not having adequate time to see what the suit is all about is not generally one of the flaws. If you comply with the civil rules and time restrictions, you should have a full oppotunity to obtain the information you need to either settle or defend the suit.

You may consider hiring an attorney to evaluate your case and perhaps assist you in drafting some Discovery documents. You can then decide if you want to proceeed Pro Se (alone) or with an attorney representin gyou in settlemetn discussions and trial.

Good Luck

Re: Breach of Contract

Perhaps you have been served with a summons and a Petition alleging breach of contract. If so, you have thirty days to file responsive pleadings or you must appear in court depending upon whether the suit is in Circuit court or Associate Circuit Court. In any event, you need to consult with an attorney. An honest attorney will tell you whether you need legal representation or whether you could adequately represent yourself. If you do not already have an attorney, you may call me at my office for a consultation.