What are Court Summons

In regards to the legal code, a court summons is a document issued by a municipal court, a superior court, or an administrative agency of a Government department. The summons can be delivered to a party for a number of purposes, but the general action of the court summons is to notify an individual or party that they are expected to appear before a judge or mediator.

A court summons is typically placed on an individual who has failed to make a payment for a service or is in debt to a company or another party due to a defaulted payment. As oppose to going through collection companies, the entity who is owed will issue a summons to the individual in debt to ensure their presence before a judge or mediator.

A judicial summons or court summons is addressed to a defendant in a specific legal proceeding. Generally speaking, the summons announces that the person who is notified of a legal proceeding has for one reason or another initiated an action to warrant a court hearing.

In some jurisdictions or municipal courts a summons may be drafted and filled with legal jargon, while the majority of states require a court summons to be composed in basic English terms. In fact, most states require that a court summons start with the phrase: "Notice! You have been sued."

In addition to the reasons for the summons, the document also announces a date by which the individual must appear in court or respond in writing to the issuing court. In addition, the defendant can also contact the party responsible for initiating the court summons.

NEXT: Counterclaim