Receiving a summons and a copy of a civil complaint starts a clock, and the clock does not care whether you think the case is meritless. If you file a proper answer on time, the case proceeds normally and every defense you raise stays alive. If you do nothing, the other side can ask the court to declare you in default — which means the case moves forward without you, the court hears only the plaintiff's evidence, and judgment can be rendered against you on that evidence alone. This page walks through the period to answer under the amended rules of civil procedure, the one extension the rules allow, what an order of default actually does, and the remedies a defaulted party still has, both before and after judgment.
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The clock starts on service of summons: 30 calendar days to answer
Under the 2019 Amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure, the defendant must file the answer to the complaint within 30 calendar days after service of summons, unless the court fixes a different period. Calendar days, not working days — weekends and holidays are counted. The period runs from the day the summons is validly served on you, not from the day you happen to learn about the case some other way. Treat the date of service as day zero and diary the deadline immediately, because most of the remedies discussed below exist precisely to undo the damage of missing this one date.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 11. Read the source →
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Different defendants and different pleadings carry different periods
The 30-day period is the general rule, not the only one. A foreign private juridical entity served through the government official designated by law has 60 calendar days from that official's receipt of the summons. If the plaintiff amends the complaint as a matter of right, the defendant answers within 30 calendar days from service of the amended complaint; if the amendment needed leave of court, the period is 15 calendar days from notice of the order admitting it. A counterclaim or cross-claim must be answered within 20 calendar days from service. Check which situation you are actually in before assuming the general period applies.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 11. Read the source →
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You may ask for one extension — and only one
A defendant may, for meritorious reasons, be granted an additional period of not more than 30 calendar days to file the answer, and is allowed only one motion for extension of time to file it. That is the entire universe of extensions: a motion for extension to file any pleading other than an answer is prohibited and is treated as a mere scrap of paper, although the court retains discretion to allow other pleadings filed late. If you need the extension, file the motion before the original period lapses and state the actual reason — the rule conditions the grant on merit, not on routine.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 11. Read the source →
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Put every defense in the answer — defenses not pleaded are waived
The answer is not a formality; it is where your defenses live or die. Defenses and objections not raised in a motion to dismiss or in the answer are deemed waived. The rules carve out only a short list the court must act on even without pleading: lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, another action pending between the same parties for the same cause, bar by prior judgment, and bar by the statute of limitations. A compulsory counterclaim or cross-claim not set up in the answer is barred. So the answer has to be complete the first time — raising a forgotten defense later is generally no longer possible.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 9. Read the source →
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Default is not automatic — it takes a motion, notice, and proof
If the defending party fails to answer within the time allowed, the court declares that party in default only upon motion of the claiming party, with notice to the defending party and proof of the failure to answer. The court does not do it on its own, and the defending party is entitled to be notified of the motion. Once default is declared, the court proceeds to render judgment granting the claimant the relief the pleading warrants, unless it requires the claimant to first submit evidence — and that reception of evidence may be delegated to the clerk of court.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 9. Read the source →
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What an order of default does — and the limits on a default judgment
A party in default is still entitled to notices of the subsequent proceedings but can no longer take part in the trial. The rules also cap what a default judgment can award: it can neither exceed the amount nor be different in kind from what the complaint prayed for, and it cannot award unliquidated damages. Where several defendants are sued on a common cause of action and some answer while others do not, the court tries the case against all of them on the answers filed. And in actions for annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage or for legal separation, no default is allowed at all — the court instead orders an investigation for collusion.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 9. Read the source →
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The remedy before judgment: a verified motion to set aside the order of default
A party declared in default may, at any time after notice of the default order and before judgment, file a motion under oath to set the order aside. The motion must show two things: that the failure to answer was due to fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence, and that the party has a meritorious defense. Both are required — an honest excuse without a real defense fails, and a strong defense without an acceptable excuse fails. If the showing is made, the court may lift the default on such terms and conditions as the judge imposes in the interest of justice, and the case proceeds with the defendant back in it.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 9. Read the source →
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After judgment: new trial, appeal, or a petition for relief
If judgment has already been rendered against the defaulted party, the remedies shift. While the judgment is not yet final, the party may move for new trial or reconsideration within the period for taking an appeal, or appeal the judgment itself. Once the judgment has become final and executory, the last-resort remedy is a petition for relief from judgment: a verified petition filed in the same court, on the ground that the judgment was entered against the party through fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence. It must be filed within 60 days after the petitioner learns of the judgment and not more than 6 months after the judgment was entered, with affidavits showing both the excusable ground and a good and substantial defense.
2019 Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1-71 (as amended by A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC, eff. May 1, 2020), Rule 38. Read the source →