A New Civil Summons in Plain English
Without a lot of fanfare, the Minnesota Supreme Court has approved a wholesale revision to the Civil Summons, effective July 1, 2010. It’s a welcome change and focuses on making the summons much more understandable to regular folks. Here’s how:
The summons does not mince words. The current Summons informs the recipient that “You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon plaintiff’s attorney . . . .” The new summons cuts to the quick and states in bold print: “You Are Being Sued.” In plain English the summons informs the recipient that the plaintiff has “started a lawsuit against you . . . do not throw these papers away.” Compare the current summons to the revised one:
CURRENT SUMMONS
You are hereby summoned and required to serve upon plaintiff’s attorney an answer to the complaint (which is herewith served upon you) (which is on file in the office of the clerk of the above-named court) within 20 days after service of this summons upon you, exclusive of the day of service. If you fail to do so judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.
REVISED SUMMONS
YOU ARE BEING SUED. The plaintiff has started a lawsuit against you. The Plaintiff’s Complaint against you [is attached to this summons][is on file in the office of the court administrator of the above-named court]. Do not throw these papers away. They are official papers that affect your rights. You must respond to this lawsuit even though it may not yet be filed with the Court and there may be no court file number on this summons.
The current summons typically ends there. The revised summons, however, provides five additional paragraphs of generally useful information, telling a defendant “you must respond to each claim” and “you will lose your case if you do not send a written response to the complaint to the person who signed this Summons.” It also has general information about finding legal help, though reiterates that the defendant must provide a written Answer to the complaint even if the defendant does not have an attorney.
A copy of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Order with the new summons language is here, and we’ve provided the full language below. We’ll also have an updated Summons available on practicelaw before July 1, though the new summons will not be effective until July 1, 2010.
1. YOU ARE BEING SUED. The Plaintiff has started a lawsuit against you. The Plaintiffs Complaint against you [is attached to this summons] [is on file in the office of the court administrator of the above-named court].* Do not throw these papers away. They are official papers that affect your rights. You must respond to this lawsuit even though it may not yet be filed with the Court and there may be no court file number on this summons.
2. YOU MUST REPLY WITHIN 20** DAYS TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. You must give or mail to the person who signed this summons a written response called an Answer within 20** days of the date on which you received this Summons. You must send a copy of your Answer to the person who signed this summons located at:
3. YOU MUST RESPOND TO EACH CLAIM. The Answer is your written response to the Plaintiffs Complaint. In your Answer you must state whether you agree or disagree with each paragraph of the Complaint. If you believe the Plaintiff should not be given everything asked for in the Complaint, you must say so in your Answer.
4. YOU WILL LOSE YOUR CASE IF YOU DO NOT SEND A WRITTEN RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT TO THE PERSON WHO SIGNED THIS SUMMONS. If you do not Answer within 20** days, you will lose this case. You will not get to tell your side of the story, and the Court may decide against you and award the Plaintiff everything asked for in the complaint. If you do not want to contest the claims stated in the complaint, you do not need to respond. A default judgment can then be entered against you for the relief requested in the complaint.
5. LEGAL ASSISTANCE. You may wish to get legal help from a lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, the Court Administrator may have information about places where you can get legal assistance. Even if you cannot get legal help, you must still provide a written Answer to protect your rights or you may lose the case.
6. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. The parties may agree to or be ordered to participate in an alternative dispute resolution process under Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice. You must still send your written response to the Complaint even if you expect to use alternative means of resolving this dispute.
[7. To be included only if this lawsuit affects title to real property:
THIS LAWSUIT MAY AFFECT OR BRING INTO QUESTION TITLE TO REAL PROPERTY located in ________ County, State of Minnesota, legally described as follows:
[Insert legal description of property]
The object of this action is ]
Paul Landskroener
Thanks, Greg. Galen is a neighbor (a block away). And good for him for winning the unallotment case.
Paul Landskroener
Bravo. Does anyone know who wrote the revised summons? Are they going to revise other forms?
Gregory Luce
Paul– From my understanding, this was the product of a committee, though there may have been principal drafters involved. I’ve put the question to Galen Robinson, who was part of the committee, to see if he can shed some light on this. I’ll post here if I hear back.
Sam Glover
This is a long-overdue change! Along with the members of the Civil Rules Committee who made it happen, Galen Robinson deserves much of the credit for making this happen.
I am hopeful that more defendants–especially in the tens of thousands (maybe more, in fact) of consumer debt collection lawsuits commenced every year–will now realize what is happening when they get served. The archaic language of the old summons certainly did not help them to that understanding.
Gregory Luce
I also hear you had something to do with it as well, supplying real-world examples of how the old (still current) Summons affected some of your clients. Nice work, you and Galen and the Committee.