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

An answer responds to each numbered paragraph of the complaint by admitting it, denying it, or stating you lack enough knowledge or information to admit or deny, and then states your affirmative defenses. Tennessee has no mandatory statewide answer form for Circuit and Chancery Court, so you type the answer with the court, parties, and case number in the caption under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 10.01. This written answer applies in Circuit and Chancery Court. In a General Sessions small claims or eviction case there is no written answer to draft, because you appear in person instead.

For a general civil case in Circuit or Chancery Court, file your written answer with the clerk of the court named in the summons within 30 calendar days of service under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.01, then serve a copy on the plaintiff or the plaintiff's attorney under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 5.02. There is no separate fee to file an answer in Tennessee. If your case is in General Sessions Court, you do not file a written answer; you appear on the court date stated in the civil warrant.

Under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 55.01, when a party has failed to plead or otherwise defend, the party entitled to a judgment by default applies to the court, and the court can enter a default judgment. You can file a Motion to Set Aside Default Judgment under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. That motion must be made within a reasonable time, and not more than one year after the judgment was entered, so act quickly rather than waiting.

Often yes, in Circuit and Chancery Court. Parties commonly agree in writing to extend the response deadline, and you can ask the court for more time. Filing a pre-answer motion under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02, such as a motion challenging jurisdiction or service, can also change when your answer is due until the court rules. Get any extension in writing or on the record, because the default clock keeps running until the plaintiff agrees, the court grants more time, or you file your answer.

There is no separate fee just to file an answer in Tennessee, but if you file a counterclaim or cross-claim, which carries a $100 fee under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-21-401, or otherwise owe court costs you cannot pay, you can ask the court to waive them. The request is made on the Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency, and eligibility is based on poverty or your inability to bear the expenses. Filing the affidavit lets you proceed without paying while the court decides.

Yes, in Circuit and Chancery Court. Insufficiency of process and insufficiency of service of process are defenses you can raise by a pre-answer motion under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.02, or in your answer. If service did not follow the rules, you can challenge whether the court has jurisdiction over you, and the time to answer may be affected. Raise a service problem promptly rather than ignoring the case, because ignoring the summons still risks an entry of default and a default judgment under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 55.01.

Common affirmative defenses in Tennessee include statute of limitations, statute of repose, statute of frauds, payment, release, accord and satisfaction, fraud, duress, waiver, estoppel, laches, res judicata, illegality, comparative fault, and discharge in bankruptcy. To assert your own claim against the plaintiff, you state a counterclaim under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 13.01: a claim that arises out of the same transaction or occurrence as the plaintiff's claim is compulsory and must be stated in your answer or it can be lost.

Respond the same way as any civil complaint: file a timely written answer in Circuit or Chancery Court, or appear on the warrant date in General Sessions, and raise your defenses. In debt cases, check the six-year statute of limitations for an action on a written contract under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-109(a)(3), and whether the collector validated the debt under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g. Do not ignore the case, because silence leads to a default judgment for the full amount claimed.

A party served with a divorce or dissolution complaint has 30 days to file an answer under Tenn. R. Civ. P. 12.01, because divorce is filed in Circuit or Chancery Court where the Rules of Civil Procedure apply. You file your response with the clerk of the court named in the summons and serve a copy on the other party. Missing the 30-day window can let the case proceed by default and let the court decide property, support, and parenting issues without your input.