Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Re: answering a civil complaint

You asked about a suit from the RIAA.

Waiting until the day before a response is due is just plain dumb. Now you will definitely need to hire an attorney to avoid the default. Easy enough for an attorney to do but the judge will keelhaul you if you try to do it pro se.

These cases are often winnable but the right arguments need to be made. The RIAA did make proper service because as you said, it is her permanent address. They properly served her by serving an adult at her residence.

Lying isn't even an option. Doing so would only harm the matter and create a problem for you.

I agree that the amounts requested are extortionate. But then your daughter new there were issues when she played the game. I can guess what services she used to share material. Had she done so with an iota of common sense she wouldn't have even been caught.

The upshot is this is no different than getting caught for any other questionable activity. She either needs to accept the consequences, demonstrate why she was privileged to do what she did, or otherwise demonstrate why she can't be held accountable. There are arguments to be made, but they will only be successful if an attorney makes them.

That said, many reasonable attorneys will not accept a case where a deadline has been missed or where a deadline is even too close. If the party is concerned enough about the case to proceed when the matter is fresh then how enthusiastic can an attorney expect the party to be when this matter is dragging on and the attorney needs the client's input.

Good luck. Whether or not you have the money is irrelevant as you simply must find an attorney to handle this matter.

Regards,

Roger

Re: answering a civil complaint

Lying is never a good idea. If you're caught you could go to jail for up to 7 years.

These RIAA lawsuits tend to overstate damages that said if she fails to answer they can get a default judgment for what they have claimed as damages.

Waiting 1 day before an answer is due to even start looking for legal help puts any lawyer who would like to help in an impossible position. Answers while not as time consuming to draft as original complaints still take time. The defendant is supposed to sign a verification for the answer and then it has to be filed at the right court house by 4:30 generally.

As to being able to afford a lawyer depending on what's required you might be able to settle this for a lot less than what the claimed damages are but doing that without a lawyer is almost impossible. You need to look at what a lawyer might be able to accomplish as opposed to paying the whole judgment.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The initial consultation is free.

{John}