Summons Issuance and Contents: In a civil lawsuit, after a complaint is filed, the court clerk issues a summons to the defendant?. The summons is a formal notice commanding the defendant to answer the complaint. By rule, a summons must include the court’s name, the parties’ names, the clerk’s signature or the judge’s (which gives it authority), the court’s seal, the date of issuance, and a notice to the defendant of the time within which they must respond or face default?. The summons is typically served along with the complaint (in Alaska, yes, the complaint must accompany the summons. Lets talk about this in a littlemore detail.
A summons is a court order that notifies a defendant that a lawsuit has been filed against him or her and that the defendant must file an answer within a specified number of days. The procedure for issuing and serving a summons is governed by Civil Rule 4. When a lawsuit is filed, the clerk of court must issue a summons to each defendant named in the complaint.
The plaintiff may have to pay the court to make copies of this form after the clerk signs it.
The plaintiff must then have each defendant “served” with the summons and a copy of the complaint.
The defendants must be served within 120 days from the date the complaint is filed. The plaintiff must also file a Civil Rule 4(f) Affidavit identifying the parties who have been served and those who have not been served. Both plaintiffs and defendants must keep the court and all other parties informed of any changes in their mailing addresses and telephone numbers.
Served means to have these documents given to the defendant by a process server, certified mail or in another way allowed by Civil Rule 4. Lets discuss the methods of service available under Alaska Law.