After a summons with notice is served, the defendant will demand that the plaintiff serve a complaint. The plaintiff must then have the complaint served within 20 days after being served with the demand, or the case may be dismissed.
To begin an action in Small Claims Court, a person, or someone acting on his or her behalf, must come to the Small Claims Court Clerk's office in the proper county and fill out a statement of claim. To find out where the clerk's office is located in your county, click on Locations.
To commence an e-filed action or special proceeding, a summons and complaint or summons with notice in an action, or a petition in a special proceeding shall be filed with the County Clerk through NYSCEF by uploading the documents to the NYSCEF site in PDF-A format.
Complete, sign, and make two copies of the original State complaint form posted below. Send the original State complaint form to the New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of Special Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 309 EB, Albany, NY 12234, Attention: State Complaints.
To file a motion for contempt in New York, certain criteria must be met. There must be an existing order of the court that is clear and unambiguous, and the accused must be proven to have known about this order and willfully disobeyed it.
A summons with notice or summons and complaint must be served within 120 days of filing with the County Clerk.
The written response must be made within 20 days of personal service, or within 30 days of the time when service by any other means is complete.
Failure to Respond: If a defendant fails to answer the complaint or file a motion to dismiss within the time limit set forth in the summons, the defendant is in default. The plaintiff can ask the court clerk to make a note of that fact in the file, a procedure called entry of default.