All Buffalo personal injury lawsuits are “officially” begun by the filing of a Summons and Complaint. This document informs the defendant that a lawsuit has been filed with the court and provides a brief summary of the facts supporting the lawsuit.
After receiving the Summons and Complaint, a defendant is required to provide the plaintiff with an Answer. In almost all cases, the Answer will consist of a written document containing responses to the allegations in the Complaint. While the specific content of the Answer will vary from case to case, Answers are usually divided into two parts.
The first part of the Answer usually sets forth the defendant’s position on each paragraph of the Complaint. The defendant may admit to the allegations set forth in a paragraph – confirming that the information in that paragraph is not in dispute, deny the allegations in a paragraph, or simply state that he or she does not have sufficient information to admit or deny the contents of a given paragraph.
The second part of an Answer usually consists of various defenses that the defendant is asserting in response to the allegations. These defenses will not contain specific details and may consist of issues ranging from lack of jurisdiction to claiming the accident was the plaintiff’s fault. The details regarding these defenses may be developed as the case progresses. The defense frequently raises a variety of issues – some of which ultimately may not apply – to avoid being barred from raising the defense later in the personal injury lawsuit if it proves relevant.
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