The Demand-Letter Guide

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You've Been Served With a Federal Lawsuit. Here's What to Do First.

A summons and a complaint with a court case number and a deadline to respond mean a federal lawsuit has already been filed against you. This is a different situation from a demand letter, and it runs on a short, fixed clock. The right moves now are narrow: confirm the deadline on your own papers, get an attorney who defends these cases before that deadline, preserve your records, and hand counsel the case. This page does not walk you through defending the suit yourself, because a filed federal case is not a document you should answer on your own.

If the papers in your hand have no court case number and no deadline to answer a court, you are most likely holding a pre-suit demand letter, not a lawsuit. That is a different document with more time and different first steps. Start instead at how to respond to a demand letter.

What You Need to Know

  • You are holding a filed lawsuit if the papers show a court, a case number, and a deadline to respond. If they do not, you likely have a pre-suit demand letter, not a suit.
  • A short clock is already running. A federal answer is commonly due 21 days after service (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)), but the exact deadline is on your summons and can differ. Read it off your own papers.
  • A business cannot defend itself in federal court. An LLC or corporation may appear only through a licensed attorney (28 U.S.C. §1654). “Handle it myself” is not an option for the company.
  • Missing the deadline risks a default, and from there a default judgment entered against you without your side being heard. What that can cost is covered on how these cases resolve and what venues pay.
  • Do not argue the case with the plaintiff’s lawyer alone, and do not destroy or alter records. Both can make your position worse.
  • The single most useful thing you can do today is retain counsel who handles signal-piracy or commercial-broadcast defense, and gather the documents below for them.

First, Confirm What You’re Holding

Two features separate a filed lawsuit from a pre-suit demand. Look for a court case number (often styled as a docket or civil-action number) and a deadline to respond to a court, usually stated on a summons. If both are present, a federal case exists and the rest of this page applies to you.

If neither is present, and the document is a letter or email demanding payment to settle before anyone files, you are at the earlier stage. That stage has real time to work with and a different response path: how to respond to a demand letter. Do not treat a demand letter as a lawsuit, and do not treat a lawsuit as something that can wait.

The Clock: A Short, Fixed Deadline Is Already Running

A summons carries a deadline to respond, and in federal court that deadline is short. As a common default, a defendant must serve an answer “within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint” (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i)). That is the usual starting point, not a guarantee for your case.

Verify the real deadline on your own summons rather than counting from this number, because it can be different. The same rule begins “unless another time is specified by a federal statute,” a court can set its own date, and if you formally waived service the period is longer, commonly 60 days from when the waiver request was sent (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(ii)). The date that governs you is the one on your papers.

The reason the clock matters is what happens if it passes. When a defendant “has failed to plead or otherwise defend,” the court can enter a default (FRCP 55(a)), which can lead to a default judgment decided without your side being heard. What a default judgment can actually cost a venue is a separate subject, covered on how these cases resolve and what venues pay. The point here is only that the deadline is real and moving.

Why You Cannot Simply Handle This Yourself

The question most owners ask first is whether they can respond on their own to save money. For a business, federal procedure answers it directly. A company is not permitted to represent itself in federal court: it has been settled law for the better part of two centuries that “a corporation may appear in the federal courts only through licensed counsel” (Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 202 (1993)), and the statute that lets people appear “personally or by counsel” (28 U.S.C. §1654) has long been read to give that personal-appearance right to individuals, not to LLCs or corporations.

This is a procedural fact, not a strategy or an opinion about your case. If the defendant named in the complaint is your LLC or corporation, the company must appear through an attorney, and the practical answer to “can I do this myself” is no. Even where an individual is named personally and could technically self-represent, a filed federal case on a fixed clock is not the place to attempt it. The next step in every version of this situation is the same: get counsel now.

What Not to Do Right Now

A few early moves tend to make a served case worse, and they are worth naming plainly.

  • Do not ignore it. Silence is what produces a default judgment. The deadline does not pause because the papers went in a drawer.
  • Do not call the plaintiff’s lawyer to explain or argue the merits alone. Anything you say can become part of the record, and an explanation meant to be helpful can confirm facts that raise your exposure. Once a suit is served, communication with the other side is your attorney’s to manage.
  • Do not delete, discard, or alter any records. Destroying evidence once you are on notice of a lawsuit (spoliation) is its own problem, separate from the underlying claim. Preserve everything as it is.
  • Do not try to draft your own answer or motion from a template. Responding to a filed federal complaint is legal work with consequences that are hard to undo, and it is what you are retaining counsel to do.

What to Gather for Your Attorney

You can be genuinely useful in the first day by assembling the materials your lawyer will need, without deciding anything about the case yourself. Have these ready for the first conversation:

  • The complete court papers. Every page of the summons and complaint, plus any envelope or note showing when and how you were served (the service date drives the deadline).
  • Your account and provider records. How the event reached your screens (satellite, cable, or an internet app) and on what kind of account (residential or commercial), with any bills, contracts, or provider correspondence.
  • The event and date. Which specific broadcast or fight is named, and the date it was shown.
  • Any investigator or audit materials. Photographs, affidavits, or letters you received documenting the showing.
  • Your insurance policies. Notify your insurer or broker in writing promptly and ask whether any policy may respond; a general-liability or business-owner’s policy sometimes does. The preserve-records and insurance-notice steps are covered further on how to respond to a demand letter.

How to Find Counsel Quickly

Look for an attorney who regularly defends signal-piracy or commercial-broadcast cases under 47 U.S.C. §§553 and 605, and who is admitted in the federal district where the suit was filed (the court is named on your summons). Your state bar’s lawyer-referral service is a starting point, as is a search focused on the specific case type rather than general litigation. When you speak with a candidate, ask how many of these broadcast cases they have handled, whether they can act before your deadline, and how they charge. Retaining someone who knows this niche matters more than retaining the first name you find. The full method for finding, vetting, and pricing counsel is on how to find and vet the right lawyer.

If a Default Has Already Been Entered

If the document you are holding is a clerk’s entry of default or a motion for default judgment, a deadline in the case was already missed. That is not necessarily the end of the matter: a court “may set aside an entry of default for good cause,” and may set aside a final default judgment under the applicable rule (FRCP 55(c)). Whether that relief is available on your facts is a question for an attorney, and asking for it is counsel’s work, not a step to attempt on your own. This is the point to retain a lawyer immediately, and the after-the-case cleanup is its own subject once the matter is closed.

Where to Go From Here

Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Do I Have to Respond to a Federal Lawsuit?

The deadline is on your summons, and it is short. As a common default, a federal answer is due within 21 days after you were served (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i)), but that is a starting point, not a guarantee. A federal statute or the court can set a different time, and if you waived formal service the period is commonly 60 days. Read the exact date off your own papers and treat it as firm.

Can I Represent My Business Myself to Save Money?

No. A company cannot appear on its own behalf in federal court; an LLC or corporation may appear only through a licensed attorney (Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 202 (1993); 28 U.S.C. §1654). This is a procedural rule, not a judgment about your case. If your business is the named defendant, retaining counsel is not optional.

What Happens if I Miss the Deadline?

The court can enter a default, and from there a default judgment can be entered against you without your side being heard (FRCP 55(a)). That is the outcome most owners are trying to avoid, and it is why the deadline matters more than the underlying facts in the first days. What a default judgment can cost is covered on how these cases resolve and what venues pay.

Is This the Same as the Demand Letter I Got Earlier?

No. A demand letter is a pre-suit request to settle, with no court, no case number, and time to respond. A summons and complaint mean a lawsuit has been filed, with a deadline running. If your document has a case number and a court deadline, treat it as a lawsuit. If it does not, it is a demand letter, and the path is how to respond to a demand letter.

Should I Call the Plaintiff’s Lawyer to Explain?

Not on your own, and not before you have counsel. After a suit is served, statements to the other side can become part of the record, and communications with plaintiff’s counsel are something your attorney manages. An explanation offered to be helpful can confirm facts that increase your exposure.

A Default Was Already Entered Against Me. Is It Too Late?

Not necessarily. A court may set aside an entry of default for good cause and may set aside a final default judgment under the applicable rule (FRCP 55(c)). Whether that relief is available depends on your facts, and seeking it is a lawyer’s task. Retain counsel immediately rather than attempting it yourself.