Full question:
My daughter got served by Montana State University. Although she's been living in Bozeman, MT for the past 4 years, the summons was filed in Riverside Superior Court, CA. Speaking with their attorney, they stated that my daughter will be served in Montana as well, making her have TWO lawsuits for the one debt. We're trying to figure out if she'll require two separate counsels for two separate summons.
- Category: Civil Actions
- Subcategory: Service
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
A summons is a document from a court that informs a person that a complaint has been filed against them. It is not the lawsuit itself. The plaintiff must notify the defendant that a lawsuit has been initiated, and the summons includes details such as the names of the parties, the court's information, and instructions for responding to the complaint within a specified timeframe, usually 30 days.
Each defendant must be served a copy of the summons along with the complaint to begin the response period. After service, the original summons and proof of service are filed with the court to confirm that the defendant was served. An alias summons is a second summons, while a pluries summons is a subsequent one.
If the plaintiff serves the defendant in multiple locations, these summonses may refer to the same underlying case. If the debt in question was incurred in Montana between two Montana parties, and the lawsuit was filed in California, there may be grounds to challenge the choice of venue. However, if the only connection to California is the service of the summons for a Montana lawsuit, this may not be an issue.
In this situation, one attorney experienced in civil procedure and contract law could effectively represent your daughter in the defense of the collection action.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.