Q: Debt lawsuit in Denton County JP courts. I filed my response with the courts and the Attorney representing the company.
My response was in May 2024 the plaintiff has never responded to the courts. Is there a time frame for the plaintiff to respond to the courts? Can I request the courts to dismiss the case since it has been nine months?
A:
The plaintiff has no obligation to respond to your written answer. Typically, if there is no activity on a case for a lengthy period of time, the court will send a dismissal notice requesting the plaintiff to take some action or it will dismiss the case. Typically, the plaintiff setting the case for trial or filing a motion for summary judgment will be sufficient to prevent the court from dismissing the case.
Typically, it serves no useful purpose for the defendant to request a dismissal of the case due to inactivity. That likely will simply prompt the plaintiff's attorney to set the case for trial, etc. Even if the court were to dismiss the case "for want of prosecution," that type of dismissal is "without prejudice." That means the creditor can file the same lawsuit again as long as the statute of limitations has not expired.
My recommendation is that you continue to monitor the case for activity, including a trial setting, and lay low. Filing a motion to dismiss the case for want of prosecution is likely to spur activity from the plaintiff that could result in a judgment against you.
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