Answer

The Answer is the pleading by which the Defendant responds to the allegations of the Plaintiff as stated in the Complaint. In most cases, the Answer is a complete denial of the allegations. However, the Answer could be a partial denial and partial admission to various individual allegations in the Complaint. The answer could also include the following:

• Counterclaim - Defendant alleges damages sustained due to actions of the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff must then file and Answer.
• Third-Party Complaint - Defendant alleges that a another party is responsible for part or all of the money due, and demands the Judgment be made against the third party, rather than the Defendant.

The Defendant has a certain number of days to respond officially through the court. Often, the Defendant's attorney will file for a continuance in order to obtain more information, or simply to stall the case. In some states, an attorney can simply put in an "Appearance", often hiring someone else to speak for them in court, to file the Answer and avoid Default Judgment.

Defendant filed Answer. On to Discovery.
Defendant did not file Answer. On to Default Judgment.