Don’t ignore the lawsuit. If you do that, the person suing you could win automatically, and the judgment could appear on your credit report.
Responding is important because if you do not respond at all, you can lose the opportunity to defend the lawsuit. The court can automatically rule in favor of the creditor or debt collector. That ruling is called a default judgment. If the court enters a default judgment against you, you can ask the court to set aside that judgment within 14 days after the judge signed the judgment. You must send this request to the court and the opposing side (the person or company who sued you).
When you respond or “answer” the lawsuit, the debt collector will have to prove to the court that the debt is valid and that you owe the debt. This page has two Answer form options you can use to help you respond to the suit.
While you must be properly “served” with a lawsuit, you won’t be able to stop the lawsuit by refusing to accept delivery or “service” of the lawsuit. By doing these things, you will be ignoring the lawsuit and the court may consider you properly served, even if you have not physically accepted or seen the papers stating that there is a lawsuit against you.
If a court enters a judgment against you, you might be able to get it set aside or negotiate a lower amount, and you might be judgment proof.