Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Re: Judgements

The answer to that depends entirely on what it is that the complaint says you owe the money for...did you buy something and not pay? Did you fail to pay off a credit card debt? DId someone paint your house and you did not pay for it? Each of these are different situations where you owe money, but the defenses to be put into an answer would be different for all three. Provide the information as to what the complaint says and ask your question again. THen you can get an answer that can be more helpful. There is one defense that should be asserted in EVERY matter...that is called a GENERAL DENIAL. FOr instance, say you bought a dining room table and did not pay for it and you are being sued. You r answer says "GENERAL DENIAL". That means you are DENYING each and every allegation set forth in the complaint. THat does not mean that the complaint is false, it simply means that you are not admitting as true what the complaint is claiming. THat forces the plaintiff to PROVE the truthfulness of their claims. Sometimes they will not be able to do that easily or at all. What would happen if they could not find the delivery man or delvery company that delivered the dining room table? How do they prove you even got it? A judge is not going to make you pay for something the plaintiff cannot prove you actually got. If you admit you got the dining room table (failure to deny is the same as admitting it) the plaintiff does not have to prove it on their own. THerefore, a general denial puts the burden of proof on the plaintiff to prove all the elements of their case...that is not easy to do.