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Delaware Answer to a Complaint

Delaware gives you 20 calendar days to answer a complaint under Superior Court Civil Rule 12(a). File on time or the plaintiff can take a default judgment.

Introduction

A Delaware Answer to a Complaint is the written response you file after you are served with the summons and complaint in a civil lawsuit. It admits or denies the complaint's allegations, raises the affirmative defenses you intend to rely on, and, if you have a related claim of your own, includes a counterclaim. Delaware splits civil cases across three trial courts, and where your case sits decides how you respond. In the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas, Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a) and Ct. Com. Pl. Civ. R. 12(a) both give you 20 days after service of process to serve an answer. There is no statewide fill-in answer form for those courts, so the answer is a typed pleading on a caption that complies with Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 10(a). The Justice of the Peace Court is different. A debt or trespass action there directs you to complete and return J.P. Civ. Form 7 within 15 days, while a summary possession (eviction) case requires no written answer at all because you appear at the trial date the Court sets. Miss your deadline in a court that requires an answer and the plaintiff can take a default judgment under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 55(b). DocDraft drafts a Delaware-formatted answer from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Your deadline in the main civil courts is 20 calendar days. In the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas, Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a) and Ct. Com. Pl. Civ. R. 12(a) both require you to serve an answer within 20 days after service of process. Because 20 days exceeds the short-period threshold in Rule 6(a), weekends and holidays are counted.

  2. 2

    There is no statewide answer form for Superior Court or Common Pleas. The answer is a typed pleading on a caption that complies with Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 10(a), naming the court, the parties, and the case number. Only the Justice of the Peace Court provides a fill-in answer, J.P. Civ. Form 7.

  3. 3

    Which court you are in depends on the amount. The Justice of the Peace Court hears small claims up to $25,000, the Court of Common Pleas hears civil cases up to $75,000, and the Superior Court hears cases over $75,000. The summons names the court you must answer.

  4. 4

    A small claims case has its own 15-day rule. In a Justice of the Peace Court debt or trespass action, the summons directs you to complete and return J.P. Civ. Form 7 within 15 days of receiving the summons under Del. J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 12. A written answer is required, so this is not a no-answer track.

  5. 5

    An eviction case requires no written answer. In a summary possession action in the Justice of the Peace Court, no answer is sent to the Court before trial; you appear at the trial date the Court sets. You may demand a jury trial in writing within 10 days of being served under Del. J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 38.

  6. 6

    There is no fee to file an answer, and waivers exist. The plaintiff's initial filing fee covers the answer, so the answer filing fee is $0. If you cannot afford court costs, you can apply to proceed in forma pauperis using JP Civil Form No. 49 based on inability to pay.

  7. 7

    A related claim may be compulsory. Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 13, a counterclaim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim is compulsory and must be raised with your answer, and the statute of limitations on a written contract is three years under 10 Del. C. § 8106.

Key Decisions

Responding to the Allegations

Affirmative Defenses and Counterclaims

Filing and Serving Your Answer

Customize your Answer to a Complaint Template with DocDraft

IN THE [SUPERIOR COURT / COURT OF COMMON PLEAS] OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR [COUNTY] COUNTY

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff, v. C.A. No. [CASE NUMBER] [DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

DEFENDANT'S ANSWER

Defendant [DEFENDANT NAME] answers the Complaint of Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] as follows.

I. RESPONSES TO ALLEGATIONS

  1. Answering paragraph 1 of the Complaint, Defendant [admits / denies / is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations and therefore denies them].
  2. Answering paragraph 2 of the Complaint, Defendant [admits / denies / is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief and therefore denies]. [Continue for each numbered paragraph of the Complaint.]

II. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES [State each affirmative defense you intend to rely on, for example: the claim is barred by the three-year statute of limitations on a written contract under 10 Del. C. section 8106; payment; release; accord and satisfaction; statute of frauds; fraud.]

III. COUNTERCLAIM (if any) [State any claim you have against the Plaintiff. Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 13 a counterclaim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence is compulsory and must be raised with this answer.]

IV. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, Defendant requests that the Court enter judgment in Defendant's favor, deny the relief sought in the Complaint, award costs, and grant any further relief the Court deems just.

Dated: [DATE]

[SIGNATURE] [DEFENDANT NAME], Pro Se [ADDRESS / PHONE / EMAIL]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I certify that on [DATE] a true copy of this Answer was served on [PLAINTIFF / PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY] under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 5(b), by [electronic service through File & ServeXpress / mail / delivery]. [SIGNATURE]

Delaware Requirements for Answer to a Complaint

20-Day Answer Deadline

In a general civil case in the Superior Court or the Court of Common Pleas, your answer is due within 20 days after service of process under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a) and Ct. Com. Pl. Civ. R. 12(a). Because 20 days exceeds the short-period threshold in Rule 6(a), weekends and holidays are counted on the calendar. A Justice of the Peace Court debt or trespass action uses a 15-day window.

Typed Pleading or J.P. Civ. Form 7

There is no statewide fill-in answer form for the Superior Court or the Court of Common Pleas, so the answer is a typed pleading that responds to each allegation. The Justice of the Peace Court provides J.P. Civ. Form 7 for a debt or trespass action, which is enclosed with the complaint and summons.

Court Caption

Caption the answer for the court named in the summons, which is the Superior Court for civil cases over $75,000, the Court of Common Pleas for cases up to $75,000, or the Justice of the Peace Court for small claims up to $25,000. The caption must comply with Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 10(a) and include the court, the parties' names, and the case number.

File With the Court Named in the Summons

File your answer in the court named in the summons: the Prothonotary for the Superior Court, the Clerk of the Court for the Court of Common Pleas, or the Justice of the Peace Court. E-filing through File & ServeXpress is mandatory in the Superior Court and Court of Common Pleas under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 79.1, though pro se litigants may file in paper.

Serve a Copy on Each Party

Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 5(b), serve a copy of your answer on each of the parties by mail, delivery, or electronic service if you are e-filing, and keep proof of service.

No Answer Fee, Waiver Available

The fee to file an answer in Delaware is $0, because the plaintiff's initial filing fee covers the case and there is no separate answer fee. If you cannot afford court costs, apply to proceed in forma pauperis using the Application and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, JP Civil Form No. 49, based on inability to pay.

Affirmative Defenses

State each affirmative defense you intend to rely on, such as statute of limitations, payment, release, accord and satisfaction, statute of frauds, fraud, estoppel, or waiver. The statute of limitations on a written contract in Delaware is three years under 10 Del. C. § 8106.

Compulsory Counterclaim If Any

Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 13, a counterclaim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff's claim is compulsory and must be raised with your answer, or you can lose the right to bring it later. A claim from a different transaction may be raised as a permissive counterclaim.

Frequently Asked Questions

In a general civil case in the Superior Court or the Court of Common Pleas, Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a) and Ct. Com. Pl. Civ. R. 12(a) give you 20 days after service of process to serve an answer, and those days are counted on the calendar. The deadline differs in the Justice of the Peace Court. A debt or trespass small claims action directs you to return J.P. Civ. Form 7 within 15 days, while a summary possession (eviction) action requires no written answer because you appear at the trial date the Court sets. Missing a required deadline can lead to a default judgment.

There is no statewide fill-in answer form for the Superior Court or the Court of Common Pleas. In those courts the answer is a typed pleading on a caption that complies with Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 10(a), naming the court, the parties, and the case number, and responding to each allegation. The Justice of the Peace Court is the exception: a debt or trespass action there is answered on J.P. Civ. Form 7, which is enclosed with the complaint and summons.

File your answer in the court named in the summons: the Prothonotary for the Superior Court, the Clerk of the Court for the Court of Common Pleas, or the Justice of the Peace Court for a small claims matter. E-filing through File & ServeXpress is mandatory in the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 79.1, though pro se litigants may file in paper. You must also serve a copy of the answer on each party.

The fee to file an answer in Delaware is $0, because the plaintiff's initial filing fee covers the case under Superior Court Rule 77 and there is no separate answer fee. If you cannot afford court costs, you can apply to proceed in forma pauperis using the Application and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, JP Civil Form No. 49, based on inability to pay the costs.

Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 55(b), when a party against whom affirmative relief is sought fails to appear, plead, or otherwise defend, judgment by default may be entered. You may be able to set the judgment aside by filing a motion to vacate. The standard is mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 60(b)(1). In the Justice of the Peace Court the window is 15 days for debt or trespass and 10 days for eviction under Del. J.P. Ct. Civ. R. 60(c).

Yes, and you may be required to. Under Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 13, a counterclaim is compulsory if it arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff's claim, and it must be raised with your answer or it can be lost. A claim arising from a different transaction may be raised as a permissive counterclaim. The statute of limitations on a written contract in Delaware is three years under 10 Del. C. § 8106.