How to Respond to a Lawsuit in North Dakota: Answer a Summons (2026)

An answer responds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint by admitting it, denying it, or stating you lack enough information to admit or deny, and then lists your affirmative defenses. North Dakota Courts publish a fillable Answer to a Civil Action form you can adapt, or you can type the answer with the court, parties, and case caption set under N.D. R. Civ. P. 10(a).

Serve a written answer on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney within 21 calendar days of being served under N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A), then file it, with proof of service, with the clerk of the District Court in the county named in the summons under N.D. R. Civ. P. 5. The answer filing fee is $100, unless the court grants a fee waiver. Self-represented defendants may file in person, by mail, or through a commercial carrier.

Under N.D. R. Civ. P. 55(a), when a defendant has failed to plead or otherwise appear and that fact is shown by affidavit, the court may direct the clerk to enter a default judgment for what the complaint requests. You can file a Motion for Relief from a Judgment or Order under N.D. R. Civ. P. 60(b) for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. The motion must be made within a reasonable time and no more than one year after notice of entry, so act quickly.

Often yes. Parties commonly agree in writing to extend the answer deadline, and you can ask the court to enlarge the time. Filing a pre-answer motion under N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(b), such as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, can also change the answer timeline until the court rules. Get any extension in writing, because the default clock keeps running until the plaintiff agrees, the court grants more time, or you serve a response.

You can ask the court to waive your filing fee. North Dakota's waiver is requested with the Petition for Waiver of Filing Fees and a Financial Affidavit in Support, and eligibility is based on an inability to afford the required fees given your income or expenses. If the court grants the waiver, you can file your answer without paying the $100 filing fee that would otherwise apply.

Yes. Insufficient service of process is a defense you can raise by motion under N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(b) or in your answer. If service did not follow the rules, the court may lack personal jurisdiction and the time to answer may not have started to run. Raise a service problem promptly rather than ignoring the case, because ignoring the summons still risks a default judgment under Rule 55(a).

North Dakota recognizes affirmative defenses including the statute of limitations, accord and satisfaction, payment, release, fraud, duress, estoppel, illegality, laches, res judicata, statute of frauds, and waiver. To assert your own claim against the plaintiff, you plead a counterclaim. Under N.D. R. Civ. P. 13(a), a claim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim is compulsory and can be lost if you do not plead it in your answer.

Respond the same way as any civil complaint: serve a timely answer that admits or denies each allegation and raises your defenses. In debt cases, check the six-year statute of limitations for written-contract actions under N.D.C.C. 28-01-16 and whether the collector validated the debt under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692g. Do not ignore the summons, because silence leads to a default judgment for the full amount claimed.

A respondent served with a divorce summons and petition has the same 21 calendar days to serve an answer under N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A). You file your response with the clerk of the District Court in the county named in the summons. Missing the 21-day window can let the divorce proceed by default and let the court decide property, support, and parenting issues without your input.