1. finance
2. personal finance
3. saving

Appendix A
Dear
We are the Volunteer Lawyers Project. Volunteers. We don’t ask you for money. We don’t ask you
for anything. Ever. Everything we do is free.
Why are we writing you? Because a company sued you. That means the company told a court that it
thinks you owe it money. The company is asking a court to force you to pay. (You may not have
gotten any papers about this yet. If so, they’re on the way. Keep reading.)
What if some stranger came to your house and said, “Pay me!”. Would you pay up right there? Even
if you didn’t know that person? Just because they said so? Of course not!
Here, a company sued you. It told the court that it thinks you owe it money. Will you pay up, just
because the company said so? Even if you don’t know the company? Just because it said so?
It could be that you do owe this money. But maybe you don’t.
Or maybe you think you owe something, but not as much as the company says.
Or maybe you think you owe someone some money, but you don’t know if you owe this
particular company.
Or maybe you don’t have any money to pay, or all the money you have comes from
government benefits. That matters!
Whether you think you owe the money or not, or if you’re just not sure, here’s our advice:
you
should go to court!!!!!
If you do, a fair judge will listen to your side of the story.
If you don’t go to court, the court will automatically say that you owe the money, without even hearing
your side of the story! And, down the road, the court could possibly take something you own, or part
of your paychecks, to force you to pay. But if you do go to court, a fair judge will hear you.
What should you do? Our advice: find out what’s going on!! Show up at the court hearing!! When
you do go, we’ll be there to help. FREE.
If you want a fair judge to hear your side of the story, just follow THREE easy steps: (1) Answer the
lawsuit, (2) Find out your court date, (3) Go to court.
1) Answer the lawsuit. (Do this soon! You don’t have a lot of time!)
To answer the lawsuit:
There are three copies of an Answer Form in this package. They are all the same. Fill out all
three of them. (It won’t take long!)
Keep one copy for yourself. Bring it with you to court.
Put one copy in each of the two envelopes included with this letter, and mail them. We already
put the right addresses on the envelopes for you, but don’t forget stamps!
2) Find out when you need to go to court. Here’s what to do:
Watch for a letter
from the court.
Get the court date and time
from your letter.
Mark your calendar!
3) Go to court that day and time. (And bring that Answer Form you saved with you.)
Our volunteer lawyers will be there at the court, on the date and time in the court’s letter. They’ll give
you advice or even represent you if you qualify for free representation. You don’t have to call us in
advance. Just show up!
If you do want to call us beforehand, we’re happy to talk to you! Just call 617-423-0648, then dial
155. If we’re not there, leave a message with your telephone number, and we’ll call back.
If you haven’t gotten any papers about court yet, you will be getting them soon. Our advice: don’t
wait. Follow the steps in this letter now.
Remember: if you follow these steps, the court will NOT automatically say that you owe the money.
Instead, a fair judge will give you the chance to tell your side of the story. And we’ll be there to help!
But ONLY if you follow these steps.
Don’t let the company get your money without having your day in court. Show up and let us help you.
We may write you again. Look for this symbol
And see you at court!
VLP Staff Attorney
Appendix B
COMMONWEALTH OF
MASSACHUSETTS
SUFFOLK, ss.
BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT
CENTRAL DIVISION, Civil Action No.
20___ __ CV _____________
___________________________ ,Plaintiff(s) v.
_______________________, Defendants
ANSWER
I believe I have the following defenses that support my argument that I am not legally
responsible to pay the Plaintiff:
Check each box that applies to you!
Don’t worry about the italics. They’re for the judge.
I do not know the company suing me. I do not remember ever doing any
business with this company. Therefore, I deny that I owe this company any money.
Even if I did owe some money, I do not know if this amount is right. I do not
know how they came up with this amount. Therefore, I deny that I owe it.
I am not the person named in the papers I received about this lawsuit. Therefore,
I deny that I owe this company any money.
The debt does not belong to me, it belongs to someone else. Therefore, I deny
that I owe this company any money.
I have already paid this debt. Therefore, I deny that I owe this company any money.
This debt is a credit card, the last time I made a charge on the card was more
than six years ago. Also, the last time I made a payment on the card was more
than six years ago. Therefore, the statute of limitations has expired, and I deny that I owe
this company any money.
There are other reasons why I should not have to pay the amount the company
is suing over. They are as follows: ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
____________________________________. Therefore, I deny that I am liable.
The Defendant further states that other defenses and counterclaims may exist and will be added
as they become known.
[Turn over page.]
SUBMISSION AND CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a true copy of the above document was mailed to the following address on
the date below.
_________________________________________, Plaintiff’s Attorney
_________________________________________
_________________________________________, Plaintiff’s Attorney’s Mailing Address
Submitted by,
__________________________
______________________
Sign your name!
Write today’s date!
_________________________________________, Defendant
_________________________________________
_________________________________________, Defendant’s Mailing Address
You must mail this form!
Follow these steps:
1. Fill out all three copies of this form. On all three copies
Check the boxes
Sign your name
Write the date
2. Keep one copy for yourself. Bring it with you to court.
3. Put one copy in each of the two envelopes included with this
letter. Mail them. The addresses are already on the
envelopes. Don’t forget stamps!
Appendix C
Dear
Just to remind you: We are the Volunteer Lawyers Project. Volunteers.
don’t ask you for money. We don’t ask you for anything. Ever.
Lawyers.
We
We wrote you before to suggest that you answer your lawsuit, and go to court when the
court tells you to. We said that we’d be there to help.
We’re writing you again to say . . . HOORAY! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You answered your
lawsuit. That’s terrific! Now, the next step is to attend your court date. According to our
records, your court date is _____________________. But we might not have that right. The
most important thing is, LOOK FOR A LETTER FROM THE COURT!!
The court has probably set a
date for your case. It sent you a
piece of paper that looks like this !
If you haven’t gotten anything from the
court yet, you probably will soon. Again,
keep on the lookout for something that
looks like this !
Use the date (and time) on this notice
from the court. It’s the right one for sure!!
So, we just wanted to remind you: we think you should attend your court date. If you do,
we’ll be there, and we may be able to help. Remember, you don’t have to call in advance.
Just show up. If you do feel like calling ahead, we’re happy to talk with you. Just call
617-423-0648, then dial 155. If we’re not there, leave a message with your telephone
number, and we’ll call back.
See you at court!
VLP Staff Attorney
Appendix D
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!!!!!!!We’re!the!Volunteer!Lawyer’s!Project.!
!!!!!!!We!never!ask!you!for!money.!
!!!!!!!We!never!ask!you!for!anything.!
Appendix E
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