How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection in Wyoming (2024 Guide)

March 7, 2024

How to Answer a Summons for Debt Collection in Wyoming (2024 Guide)

Facing a debt collection lawsuit in Wyoming due to old debts can feel overwhelming, but ZumaZip is here to assist you in responding to the summons. With ZumaZip, you can not only stop those persistent collection calls but also navigate the legal process with ease. Let us guide you through the steps to effectively respond to the debt collection summons in Wyoming, ensuring your rights are protected throughout the process.

Being sued for debt isn’t the best feeling in life. Such a lawsuit can be so stressful, and you may even be tempted to ignore it altogether. However, ignoring a debt collection summons is one of the worst mistakes you’ll ever make, as it creates even more problems.

This article outlines the process of responding to a debt collection summons in Wyoming more straightforwardly. It also includes the specific deadlines to file a response and various examples of affirmative defenses you can use against the creditor.

When faced with such a situation, you generally have one of two options – (i) file your own Answer or (ii) utilize the services provided by ZumaZip to assist in creating the necessary legal documents for you. Here’s a look at both options and how they work.

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Wyoming deadline for responding to a debt collection summons

The deadline for answering a debt collection summons in Wyoming depends on the location where you were served the Summons and Complaint. If served within the state, your deadline is 20 days. On the other hand, you have a 30-day deadline to file your response if it was served outside Wyoming.

The Summons and Complaints are mostly served to you personally through a process server. The reason it is called a “summons” is because the document effectively summons you to respond to this legal matter in a court of law. That aside, they also indicate:

Court hearing date.
Court location.
Plaintiff’s name.
Reason for being sued.
Amount claimed by the plaintiff.

The countdown to submit a response starts upon receiving the Summons and Complaints. When the deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, it is shifted to the next immediate business day.

Your response to the Summons and Complaint determines the way forward for your case. The court rules a default judgment against you if you fail to file an Answer within 20-30 days, depending on how these documents were served.

You are only lucky to defend yourself in a law court if you file an Answer before the deadline. Filing the response will be unnecessary if you agree with the debt and its circumstances. However, it is crucial to file the response and attend the court hearing if:

You disagree with the debt amount but not with its circumstances.
The creditor violated the terms of the contract.
You have supporting evidence to show that the debt is paid fully or partially or was paid for a lower amount.
You do not know anything concerning the debt.

Responding to the Summons and Complaint requires filing an Answer and attending the court hearings with supportive evidence if any. You should also deliver a copy of the form to the plaintiff or their attorney.

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Wyoming answer to summons forms

In Wyoming, your Answer form must contain the following:

Information about the court, case, and the parties involved.
Response to every paragraph in the Summons and Complaints served to you.
Your Affirmative Defenses indicating why you don’t owe the debt.

To be accepted, your Answer must be in the correct format and contain all the right information regarding the case.

Given that responding to a debt collection summons can be quite complicated, consider using ZumaZip to create the Answer document. All ZumaZip requires you to do is answer some questions and fill in your information. The software will then provide a well-formatted document to submit to the court.

If the debt claimed does not exceed $6000, you can use the Small Claims form to file your Answer. Generally, small claims do not require you to file anything with the courts; you only need to attend the court hearing on the date provided.

Answer filing fees in Wyoming

Wyoming law courts do not charge a fee when filing an Answer. You can hand deliver the copy or send it through certified or express mail to the court. However, you will be responsible for the mailing costs. You must also send a copy of the submitted Answer document to the plaintiff or their lawyer.

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Steps for responding to a debt collection summons in WY

The lawsuit starts after you receive the Summons and Complaint. The Summons outlines the case, while the Complaint highlights the argument. After receiving the documents, you have to respond within 20-30 days; otherwise, the court will rule a default judgment.

There are two ways of responding to a lawsuit, filing a Motion or an Answer document. Generally, an Answer document is sufficient since filling a Motion is much complex. Filling an Answer document requires you to:

Answer the issues presented by the plaintiff.
Provide affirmative defenses (if any).
File the document with the court and serve it to the plaintiff.

Creating an answer document

The very first step of formulating your answers is to create an Answers document. The information presented in this document follows a specific format. You can retrieve most of this information from the Summons and Complaint served to you.

In addition, you must include the following information on top of the document:

Court information; the name of the court, address, and location.
Docket information; a three-digit abbreviation for the courthouse followed by the number assigned to your case and filing year.
Personal information; your name, address, etc.
Plaintiff information; the plaintiff’s name, company name, and the name of their lawyer.

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Respond to each issue independently

You must respond independently to each Complaint presented to you by the plaintiff. These complaints are usually outlined in the Complaint document.

Primarily, debt collection cases have 10 to 30 paragraphs. The paragraphs are sometimes broken down into sections, such as facts, parties involved, and jurisdiction. However, this is just a matter of style since every lawyer has their preferences. In all the questions, you are limited to answer one of the following responses only:

Admit: The response indicates that you admit to the allegations contained in the particular paragraph.
Deny: It indicates that you disagree with the allegations contained in the particular paragraph.
Lack of information: This should be your response if you don’t have any information to respond to a specific paragraph or do not understand it altogether. In other words, it basically states that you do not know anything about the issue raised.
Not directed to the defendant: This rare response only appears if you were sued with a Co-defendant. You should only provide this response if the allegations are not directed to you.

On the second page of the document, sign and fill in for the non-e-filed cases option if you want to mail the responses.

If the lawsuit is a small claim (indicated in the Summons and Complaint), you can file a Small Claims form. By small claims, it means that the amount owed does not exceed $6,000.

The Small Claims form consists of the court information and your details. In the next section (Section A), you can choose the option that best describes how you intend to proceed with the case. These options include:

Requesting for a court hearing.
Claim undisputed/ Claim payment (a payment hearing is scheduled to determine the payment plan).
Requesting for a jury trial in a higher court (if the claims exceed $1,500).
Filing bankruptcy status.

Proceed to Section B if you want to pursue any counterclaims or to Section C if you are filing the form on behalf of another party.

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Asserting affirmative defenses

According to the law in Wyoming, you may not be required to repay a debt due to different legal reasons.

These reasons are known as affirmative defenses. The most common affirmative defenses include:

Release: You are not legally obligated to clear your debt if you have previously filed a bankruptcy case that included the debt you’re being sued for.

Accord and Satisfaction: This happens when you have paid a fraction of the debt to satisfy the whole amount. In this case, you are not obligated to pay the debt.

Payment: This applies if you’ve fully cleared the plaintiff’s debt, but the debt collection agency purchases the debt without checking your payment history. If you have evidence that you cleared the debt, the court will rule in your favor.

Statute of limitations: This refers to the time limit set for pursuing a lawsuit against a debtor. These limitations vary depending on the state and type of debt.

You can also decide to file a counterclaim if you are confident that the plaintiff violated any Wyoming State debt collection laws. Also, if you’ve been harassed or hounded by debt collectors and there is evidence that a debt collector violated a provision of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), you can use these FDCPA violations as a basis for your counterclaim. You may be wondering, “what exactly is the FDCPA?” Well, the FDCPA is a federal law enacted by Congress specifically designed to protect individuals from being subjected to inappropriate debt collection tactics.

Unfortunately, even with the passage of the FDCPA, many debt collectors flout the provisions of this federal law and engage in highly questionable and unethical tactics with the goal is coercing a consumer to agree to repay the debt. Nevertheless, if you have evidence that a debt collector violated the FDCPA, you can take file your own legal claim against them and pursue money damages.

Pursuant to the FDCPA, debt collectors are not allowed to harass you or your loved ones. For example, debt collectors are expressly prohibited from engaging in these actions:

Threatening to harm you or members of your family physically
Threatening to harm you or members of your family financially
Using obscene or profane language during phone calls or other correspondence
Calling you repeatedly
Calling you prior to 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. without your permission
Contacting you at your place of employment

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Filing the answer with the court and serving the plaintiff

This is the final step of responding to a debt collection summons in Wyoming. You should draft your Answer document and file it with a court. Although most people ignore this step, it is equally important to prove that you responded within the deadline.

However, if you are unsure if you have created a viable Answer document, you do not need to be stressed about it. ZumaZip helps you create the right and acceptable Answer form. Besides, the web application passes the Answer document to an attorney to verify that it meets all legal requirements before being submitted to the court and the plaintiff.

Statute of limitations on debt in Wyoming

Wyoming Statute of Limitations on Debt
Debt Type	Deadline in Years
Written	10
Oral/Unwritten	8
Personal Property	4
Judgements	5
Source: Findlaw

Statutes of limitations exist in every state. These limitations set the time limits for filing lawsuits. In Wyoming, the statute of limitations ranges from 1 to 5 years, varying from case to case.

Some of Wyoming’s statutes of limitations have been discussed below.
For a written contract, promise, or agreement, the statute of limitations is ten years.
For an unwritten contract, promise, or agreement, the statute of limitations is eight years.
For personal property recovery, the statute of limitations is four years.

Wyoming state legal aid organizations

You’ll find free legal services in every state. These organizations assist citizens who cannot afford assistance. In Wyoming, the following are some of the state legal aid organizations:Legal Aid of Wyoming Incorporation

This is a non-profit federally funded law firm.
Open from 9:00 a.m. to 4.00 a.m. from Monday to Friday.
Phone: (877) 432-9955
Teton County Access to Justice Center

The Teton County Access to Justice Center is a self-help legal resource center that offers reference assistance and legal resources.

Open from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Monday through Thursday in downtown Jackson, Wyoming.
185 South Willow St.
Jackson, WY – 83002
Phone Number: (307) 734-9023

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Wyoming state court locations

There is one federal district court, a state supreme court, and several trial courts in Wyoming. Some of these courts are:

US District Court of Wyoming
Located at Wolcott Street in Casper, Capitol Avenue in Cheyenne, and Albright Avenue in Mammoth.
Phone: 1-307-733-4126
Wyoming Supreme Court
Located at Capitol Avenue in Cheyenne.
Phone: 1-307-777-7316

You still have your legal rights despite being sued for a debt. Responding with a court-filed Answer to the Summons and Complaint will protect these rights.

The Answer document should be simple and follow the proper format to be accepted.

ZumaZip helps you to develop your Wyoming Answer to a Summons and Complaint. Ensure you follow the steps below whether using ZumaZip or already-provided forms.

Create the Answer document.
Answer each paragraph independently.
Provide your affirmative defenses.
File the answers with a court and send a copy to the plaintiff.

What is ZumaZip?

ZumaZip is a convenient solution designed to streamline your response to a debt collection lawsuit. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect when you use ZumaZip:

Firstly, you’ll access our user-friendly web application, which guides you through the process step by step. You’ll be prompted to answer a series of questions related to your specific situation. Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you have the option to either print out the finalized forms and mail them to the appropriate courts yourself, or you can opt to utilize ZumaZip’s services to file them on your behalf. Additionally, if you choose this option, an attorney will review your document for added peace of mind.

If you’re seeking guidance on how to effectively respond to a debt collection lawsuit, ZumaZip can provide the assistance you need. Feel free to explore our FAQs for more information on what ZumaZip has to offer.

What if I haven’t been sued yet?

If you’ve only received a collections notice, but not a lawsuit, the best way to respond is with a Debt Validation Letter. When a debt collector contacts you in any way, whether it’s by phone or mail, you can respond by formally requesting a debt validation with a Debt Validation Letter . This letter notifies the collector that you dispute the debt and forces them to provide proof you owe the debt. They can’t call you or continue collecting until they provide validation of the debt. This flowchart shows how you can use a Debt Validation Letter to win.

Get started with a Debt Validation Letter here.

How to Answer a Summons for debt collection in all 50 states

Here’s a list of guides on how to respond to a debt collection lawsuit in each state:

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