Just served with court eviction papers? What to do!
You, the tenant, only have 10 court days after the date you received the court papers to respond to the court. To count the 10 court days, start counting with the day after you received the papers. Do not count Saturdays, Sundays, or court holidays. If you want to defend yourself in the eviction, it is important that you file a response (called an “answer”) on time. If you have not filed a response by the end of the 10 days, the landlord can ask the court for a “default judgment.” This means that the landlord automatically wins the case and gets the rental home back from you. If this happens, you will not get a chance to go in front of the court and tell the court your side of the story.
