MN Supreme Court amends summons language

The Minnesota Supreme Court just approved changes to Minnesota’s summons, which go into effect on July 1, 2010. The summons, of course, is the notice that comes with a lawsuit that notifies defendants that they’ve been sued. I’ve been critical of the old summons language because it’s confusing and filled with incomprehensible legalese.

I’m happy to report that the new summons is written in plain, clear English. It has 6 bold-faced notices, each followed by a brief explanation. It very clearly explains that: (1) you’ve been sued; (2) you must reply within 20 days; (3) you must respond to every allegation in the lawsuit; (4) you will lose your case if you don’t respond to each allegation within 20 days; and (5) you should talk to a lawyer if you don’t understand how to help. The new summons is much clearer and should allow consumers to better understand what they need to do to protect their rights.

You can read the new summons in its entirety here.

If you live in Minnesota and want help answering a debt collection lawsuit, feel free to contact me by using the contact form in the upper right corner of this page. I offer a number of flexible representation options, so even if you can only afford to pay a few hundred dollars, I might be able to help you.