A litigation attorney may have a different focus. If you want to contest this, then by all means seek local counsel quickly. Some considerations on whether you should contest or not are:
(1) do you have legal grounds? Examples are statutes of limitations (it has expired), the complaint does not have appropriate documents attached or you have some other valid objection, you don't owe all or part of the debt or the wrong party has been sued. This list is not intended to be exhaustive so your best bet is to have your case reviewed by a local attorney.
(2) If this is your debt and there are no other valid defenses that you can raise, then whether yoyu file an answer or show up at arbitration is not relevant if this is something like a credit card debt. All that has to be show is that you are responsible for the debt, you owe the debt and you have not paid. The credit card company or a junk debt buyer does not care why it was not paid or that you have no money to pay.
From my perspective, you can spend time haggling in court and still end up with a judgment entered against you. If this is for something like a credit card, there may be an award of attorney's fees included. By litigating, you run the risk of increasing their legal fees which you are tacked on the judgment which you will have to pay. And you can possibly irritate them to the point where they refuse to settle a debt. Creditors do not have to settle a debt, although many do os, even after judgment is entered. Most creditors will accept between 50% and 80% if this is a credit card debt.
(3) What then is your objective? Do you have funds to settle the debt? Do you have a lot of debts? If the latter, maybe you want to file bankruptcy. In that case, you should spend your money on a bankruptcy attorney rather than litigate this debt.
I don't know how much is owed or what kind of debt this is or if you have the funds to resovle it. If you are interested in an alternative to litigating in court and cannot file bankruptcy, I can assist you in resolving your debt for a reasonable fee. I give free email consults and can review the specifics of your case and circumstances. Please contact me at rachelforjustice@hotmail.com. If you are interested in litigation, then contact Attorney Artim or another attorney to defend tthis lawsuit.
Regarding your question, it sounds like no service was made. The writ can be re-issued as long as the statute of limitations has not expired. When ordinary attempts at service fail, ultimately you can be served by publication in the newspaper. Nothing is to be gained by avoiding service unless there is some strategic benefit - to delay entry of judgment so that you can amass more funds to resolve the debt, or you are close to expiration of the statute of limitations.
The writ is re-issued under the same docket number. No new case is commenced. The case goes to arbitration, not because this is a credit card, but because of the amount owed. If its less than $50,000, it has to go to arbitration.
