How to Respond to a Debt Collection Complaint in DC Superior Court

The papers say Superior Court of the District of Columbia across the top. A credit card company or a debt buyer you have never heard of says you owe it money, and there is a hearing date a few weeks out.

What you have to do next depends on which branch of the court your case is in. In the Civil Actions Branch, you file a written answer within 21 days of being served. In Small Claims, you usually don’t have to file anything, but you do have to show up, and in both, missing the deadline or the hearing can cost you the case.

Which branch is my case in?

The Civil Division of DC Superior Court hears debt cases in two places. The Small Claims and Conciliation Branch handles money claims up to a set dollar limit, and larger claims go to the Civil Actions Branch.

The first page of your papers tells you. A small claims case starts with a statement of claim, and debt collection cases there use a special form for consumer debt, while a Civil Actions case starts with a complaint and a summons.

The court runs a debt collection calendar handled by magistrate judges, and many consumer debt cases are heard there. The notice you received tells you the date, the time and whether the hearing is remote.

How do I answer a complaint in the Civil Actions Branch?

You have 21 days after you were served to file an answer. An answer is a written response that goes through the complaint paragraph by paragraph, admitting what is true, denying what isn’t, and listing your defenses.

You file it with the court and send a copy to the plaintiff’s lawyer. If you need more time, ask the court before the 21 days run out, not after.

Defenses you don’t raise can be lost. Common ones in DC debt cases are that the plaintiff can’t prove it owns the debt, the amount is wrong, or the debt is too old to sue on, and DC’s statute of limitations on debt is shorter than many people expect.

Do I have to file an answer in Small Claims?

In most small claims cases, no. You can explain to the judge at the hearing why you dispute some or all of the amount.

There are exceptions. If you want to bring a counterclaim, a claim of your own against the plaintiff, it has to be in writing, and if you want a jury, you have to file a sworn answer and ask for one no later than your first appearance.

What happens at the initial hearing?

In Small Claims. If both sides show up, the judge sends the case to mediation, a session where a neutral mediator helps you and the plaintiff’s lawyer try to settle. You have to attend, but you don’t have to agree to anything, and if there is no deal, the mediator sets a date to come back for trial.

If you do settle, the agreement is written up and filed with the court. Read it before you sign, because it controls what happens if you miss a payment.

In Civil Actions. The court’s website calls the initial scheduling conference the first formal hearing before the assigned judge. If the case doesn’t settle, it is put on a track with deadlines for exchanging documents and the other steps before trial.

What does DC law make the collector prove?

More than most places. DC law requires a debt collector suing on a consumer debt to attach the contract or other evidence that you owe it, state the basis for the interest and fees it claims, list every prior owner of the debt in order, and state that the suit was filed in time.

Before the court can enter judgment, the plaintiff has to file business records proving the amount, backed by a witness who knows how those records were kept. A debt buyer also needs sworn statements tracing the debt from the original creditor to itself.

The court has to check those requirements before it enters judgment, and it can dismiss a case that doesn’t meet them. You can raise any of these failures as a defense, but only if you are in the case to raise it.

What if I miss the deadline or the hearing?

In the Civil Actions Branch, if you don’t answer in time, the clerk enters a default against you. In either branch, missing a hearing can lead to the same thing.

After a default, the court can hold a hearing where only the plaintiff presents evidence, then enter a default judgment, a judgment entered because you didn’t respond. With a judgment in hand, the plaintiff can garnish your wages or bank account.

A default can sometimes be undone, but you have to ask the court in writing and show the defenses you would have raised. The sooner you move, the better your chances.

Where can I get free help at the courthouse?

The court lists a Consumer Law Resource Center that offers free legal information to people without lawyers, with debt collection among its topics, and a Small Claims Resource Center for both sides of small claims cases. Both are in Court Building B at 510 4th Street NW.

Their days and hours change, so check the court’s website before you go. The complaint itself is also supposed to list phone numbers for free civil legal services providers, so look for that page.

Should I try to settle?

Many of these cases settle, and mediation is built for it. But settle from a position of strength: answer or appear first, then negotiate.

Here is how settling works once you have been sued. If this is one of several debts you can’t pay, a bankruptcy filing stops every lawsuit at once, and that is a conversation to have before a judgment, not after.

What should I do right now?

If you have been served with a debt collection case in DC Superior Court, call me at (202) 448-5136 before your answer deadline or hearing date. Have every page of the papers, including the hearing notice, in front of you.

The consultation is free. I will tell you which branch you are in, what you need to file and by when, and what defenses I see, and here is why going alone is a gamble.

If a lawyer has already appeared for you in the case, call that lawyer. Don’t wait. Twenty-one days goes by quickly.