- One eviction lawsuit filed under many regional names, with the same core papers
- The response clock starts when you are served, not when you read the papers
- Courts waive the filing fee for people who qualify under an income limit
- A judgment by default ends the case without your side being heard
An eviction lawsuit is the only way an occupant can be removed after a foreclosure sale in almost every state, and in a large group of states that lawsuit is called an unlawful detainer. This page walks through the papers in the case, the clock each one starts, what a written response has to do, and the two motions that exist for a notice or a complaint that is wrong on its face. The names and the counts are set by each state, so read the eviction defense page for who is owed which notice, and what differs by state for the numbers that change at each line.
One lawsuit, many names
Unlawful detainer is the term used across a large group of states. In other places the same lawsuit answers to forcible entry and detainer, forcible detainer, summary ejectment, summary process, a dispossessory proceeding, or just an eviction action. The heading on your summons tells you which one you are in, and it is worth copying that heading word for word before you look up a form or ask the clerk a question, because the wrong search term returns the wrong deadline.
The label changes. The shape does not. Someone claims the right to possession, has to show the notice they served and the basis for the claim, and hands you a fixed stretch of time to answer in writing. After a foreclosure that basis is the sale itself, which is why the recorded deed and the notice sit at the front of the file. The order of the whole post-sale process is laid out on the timeline.
Which paper means what
| Paper | Where it comes from | What it means | What it asks of you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice to quit or demand for possession | The new owner or its agent | A demand that you be gone by a set date. It carries no court’s authority. | Nothing is filed by you. Keep it and the envelope. |
| Summons | The court, delivered by a process server or as your state allows | The lawsuit has started and your response clock is running | File a written response before the last day |
| Complaint or petition | The new owner’s side | What the owner has to prove: ownership, the notice served, why you should go | Answer the allegations one by one in your response |
| Occupant claim form, names vary | Included with the papers in many states | Lets an adult occupant the case never named ask the court to be heard | Complete and file it within the time printed on it |
| Judgment for possession | The court | The owner won, at trial or by default | Move, or ask the court for more time, now |
| Writ of possession or restitution | The court, addressed to a law officer | The order that lets a sheriff, marshal or constable remove occupants | Watch for the officer’s notice and the date on it |
The response clock
The clock starts when the papers are served, not when you open them. States count differently: some in calendar days, some in business or court days that skip weekends and holidays, and some measure from a date the court stamps rather than the day of delivery. The way the papers reached you matters too, because posting and mailing usually pushes the first day back further than personal delivery into your hands.
California, for instance, gives someone served with an unlawful detainer summons 10 court days to put a written answer on file (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1167). Read that as one state’s count and no promise about yours, because several allow less.
Deadline: Write your last safe filing day on the outside of the folder holding your papers, and work backward from it. A response that is one day late is usually treated the same as no response at all.
What a response and its motions contain
A response is not a letter. In most states it answers the complaint paragraph by paragraph, admits what is true, denies what is not, states the defenses you rely on, carries your signature and sometimes a sworn verification, and is served on the other side with a proof of service filed at the court. A defense left out can be one the court will not hear later, which is why the response is read before it is filed.
Two other filings exist for narrow problems, and neither replaces answering on time. A challenge to service, called a motion to quash in some states, is used when the summons was not delivered the way the rules require. A challenge to a complaint that is defective on the page, called a demurrer or a motion to dismiss depending on the state, is used when the papers do not hold up even if everything in them were true. If a defect in the sale or the notice is the heart of your case, challenging the sale explains where that argument belongs, and it usually belongs with a licensed attorney.
If you cannot afford the filing fee
A filing fee you cannot pay does not end the case. Courts run a fee waiver process for people under an income limit, and the waiver form goes in with the response so nothing arrives late. Keep the whole packet on one schedule, because the response, the waiver, the proof of service and any occupant claim form each have their own place and their own date.
What we prepare, and who files it
Our advocates read the summons, the complaint, the attached notice and the proof of service, then calculate your deadline and tell you what the response has to cover. We set the name suing you beside the deed recorded after the sale, prepare authorizations so we can deal with the court staff and the owner’s agent on your behalf, and assemble the supporting paperwork, including identity and ownership documents. You are not billed for this while it runs. We cover the filing costs, prepare the response and any motions the case needs, and any fee we earn comes out of the surplus the sale left, only after it is recovered. Where your state requires a licensed attorney to prepare or file court papers, a licensed attorney handles it. If the practical goal is a later move-out date rather than a fight, we switch to time extensions and keep the filing on track at the same time.
Read your summons in this order
- The court name and address, because that is where the response goes.
- The date and manner of service, written on the proof of service, not the date printed on the complaint.
- The name of the party suing you, then the name on the recorded deed from the sale. They should match.
- The notice attached as an exhibit. Check its length and the name on it against who actually lives there.
- Any second form in the envelope, especially an occupant claim, and the deadline printed on it.
- The names of every defendant, then the names of every adult in the home.
Questions about unlawful detainer filings
In much of the country it is what the courts call the case that settles who may possess a property. Other regions reach the same result under forcible entry and detainer, forcible detainer, summary ejectment, summary process, a dispossessory action, or plainly an eviction action. The papers track one pattern.
The new owner files the case, because it belongs to whoever wants possession. What goes in on your side is the response, and it has to reach the court named on the summons before your deadline. We prepare it, and where your state requires a licensed attorney to prepare or file court papers, a licensed attorney handles it.
The owner can ask for a judgment by default. The court can then award possession without hearing from you, and the next paper is usually a law officer's notice to vacate. Undoing a default is slower and less likely to work than answering on time.
In the response. It takes the owner's allegations point by point and lists the defenses you want the court to weigh. A defense you leave out can be one the court will not hear later, which is why the response is read before it is filed.
No. Courts run a fee waiver process for people under an income limit, so a filing fee you cannot pay does not close the door. The waiver form goes in with the response, and we keep the whole packet on schedule so nothing arrives late.
Nothing up front. We cover the court's filing costs, prepare the response and any motions the case needs, and carry the communication with the owner's side, and any fee we take is paid from the surplus the sale left, only once it is recovered. Whether the sale left a surplus is something we check for you first.
Sometimes, but only for a narrow problem, and never in place of answering on time. A challenge to how you were served, or to a complaint that is defective on its face, is a real tool. It is a job for a licensed attorney in your state, and the response deadline keeps running while it is decided.