When A Delaware Debt Collection Lawyer Files Suit
As a Delaware debt collection lawyer, once my client authorizes me to file a lawsuit, my first step is to prepare a Complaint and file it with the Court. The Complaint states the facts supporting my client's claim, and asks the Court to award my client the money that’s owed. Accompanying the Complaint is a summons which I also prepare, and the sheriff’s office personally delivers the Complaint and the summons to the defendant. The summons notifies the defendant that he has 20 days within which to file a formal response (“Answer”) to our Complaint. In their Answer, the defendant is required to admit or deny each of the factual allegations in our Complaint.
Once the Complaint and Answer have been filed, we then engage in a process known as “discovery.” The purpose of discovery is to enable each side to find out what the other side knows about the case, including the witnesses and documents they intend to use at trial. Discovery consists of (1) interrogatories, which are written questions that must be answered by the other side under oath, (2) requests for production of documents, which require the other side to disclose and give us relevant documents, (3) depositions, where we can ask the defendant and any witnesses questions under oath in order to learn the facts of the case, and (4) requests for admissions, where we make statements we believe are true, and the defendant is then required to admit or deny that they’re true.
Once discovery is completed, a pretrial conference is held. This is a meeting of the attorneys for both sides with the judge who will be presiding at the trial. These conferences usually occur a few weeks before the trial, and the attorneys and the judge discuss the trial's expected length, jury instructions, exhibits, pretrial motions, and the witnesses who will be testifying.
Before we get to trial, we will have attempted to settle the case for an amount which my client has approved in advance. However, we’re always preparing for trial in case settlement is impossible. The final stage, of course, is the trial itself. When we win the trial, a money judgment is entered in my client's favor and against the defendant. However, that doesn’t mean the defendant will immediately write a check.
In a future article, I’ll talk about how to collect on the judgment.
