Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Ohio

In an Ohio Court of Common Please can a defendant who has NOT filed a answer to the original complaint nor to the first amended complaint then file an answer to the second amended complaint and still preserve all his defenses. If so, does the defendant have 28 days from date of service to file such an answer?


Asked on 5/09/12, 11:42 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Myers Myers Law, LLC

Every time an Amended Complaint is filed, it changes (amends) the original Complaint, which requires the Defendant to file a new Answer and gives the Defendant a new time period in which to do so. The local rules of your court will say what the time period is to respond to an Amended Complaint. It may be more, less, or equal to 28 days for filing an Answer to an Amended Complaint, and it can vary court to court.

If a Defendant does not file an Answer on time or at all, you should contact a lawyer about obtaining a "default judgment." However, you have to be absolutely sure that the time period has passed and you need to make sure that you followed your court's requirements for doing this. That is why you should contact an attorney who is familiar with the local rules of your common pleas court.

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Answered on 5/09/12, 11:53 am


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