How to Fill out a Contract Answer to a Complaint
- 1). Determine the amount of time you have to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint. This information is usually on the summons served with the complaint, and the standard time period in most jurisdictions is 20 days. You can also find the time allowed to respond in the rules of civil procedure for your jurisdiction.
- 2). Review the complaint and familiarize yourself with the factual and legal bases for the breach of contract claim. Note the time period during which the alleged violation took place, and conduct legal research into the statute of limitations for a breach of contract claim. If the lawsuit has been filed after the statute of limitations expired, you will need to file a motion to dismiss the case as time barred.
- 3). Conduct legal research into the law of contracts in your jurisdiction, including but not limited to the elements of a contract, what constitutes a breach, and how damages are determined. If the complaint on its face does not contain allegations that there there was a valid and enforceable contract that was breached, and that said breach caused the plaintiff to suffer injury or damages, you should file a motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
- 4). Conduct online research and find a sample answer to a breach of contract claim. Try to find an answer involving a case that was litigated in your jurisdiction, and use the answer as a template for your answer.
- 5). Prepare an answer to the complaint beginning with the caption listing the court in which the case was filed, the names of the plaintiff and defendant, the case file number, and the judge to whom the case was assigned. Use the same caption as the the one used on the complaint.
- 6). Answer the allegations of each paragraph of the complaint with a specific admission or denial. If you lack sufficient information to admit to or deny an allegation, you should so state and deny the allegation nonetheless. If you have information or believe that an allegation is false, you should so state. Finally, if there is a factual basis for doing so so, you should deny that there was a valid contract, that the contract was breached, and that any breach resulted in injury or damages to the plaintiff. The paragraphs of your answer should be numbered.
- 7). Draft an affirmative defenses section asserting defenses such as the statute of limitations, waiver of the breach, duress, illegality, lack of consideration and failure to mitigate damages. Explanation of these affirmative defenses and others are readily available from multiple online sources.
- 8). Sign the answer to the complaint, file it with the clerk of court, and and serve a copy on the plaintiff.
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