What is an answer?

An Answer is a formal statement filed with a court in response to a complaint or petition. An Answer is the defendant’s official response to a complaint or petition made by a plaintiff against them. In Massachusetts, an Answer is required by Rule 8 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure and must be filed within twenty (20) days of the date of service of the complaint or petition on the defendant. The Answer allows the defendant to “answer” the allegations made by the plaintiff, typically by either admitting, denying, or claiming a lack of information sufficient to admit or deny the allegations. Additionally, the Answer can also include affirmative defenses, which are the legal arguments the defendant may make in order to justify their behavior or try to show that even if the allegations are true, there is some reason that it is okay. The Answer can therefore be quite lengthy, depending on the complexity of the case. Once an Answer is filed, the legal process can move forward, and if the parties are unable to reach a settlement, the case will proceed to trial.

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