This worksheet is used to organize the information that is needed to respond to a lawsuit filed against your business. It also provides you with basic legal principles which enable you to have a better understanding of the legal process as it relates to your particular dispute.

When a party is sued, a notice of the lawsuit is formally delivered by sheriff or process server to the business, the business's registered agent, or the officers or directors. The notice will state the name and address of the plaintiffs and the type of complaint filed.

If you receive notice that you have been sued, you MUST ANSWER BY A DESIGNATED DATE. You should also notify your insurance carrier immediately. If you fail to answer the lawsuit, the judge may enter a judgment against you for all money or property claimed by the plaintiffs and require you to pay all court costs. A judgment is an official court order which may be enforced by garnishment of money owed to you or your bank account or by having the Sheriff seize and sell your property. You can attempt to have the judgment set aside voided if you do not receive proper notice, but this happens infrequently; other excuses are usually ignored.

Even after the suit has been filed, the defendant has an opportunity to settle the dispute out of court. All parties may save both time and money by resolving the case prior to a court hearing. The defendant should contact the plaintiff and offer to discuss the dispute, possibly offering a settlement. If an agreement is reached, a release will have to be prepared and signed by both parties, and filed with the clerk of court. Once it is filed with the court clerk, both parties will be required by law to obey it. The plaintiff should also dismiss the action, to remove the suit from the court system.

After considering the plaintiff's claim, the defendant may determine that some third party owes all or part of the amount being claimed by the plaintiff. In that event, the defendant should file a cross claim to bring in the additional party. Also, a counterclaim against the plaintiff may be filed by the defendant, asking for damages from the plaintiff to offset or exceed the claim made by the plaintiff.

Some possible defenses available to the defendant are lack of jurisdiction, failure to state a claim, statute of limitations, comparative negligence, assumption of risk, and failure to mitigate damages.

The case will be heard by a jury if the suit was filed in the type of court which allows for a jury and either party demands a jury. For example, no jury is allowed in a court of Equity, which is a court that grants relief in the form of personal decrees instead of money damages.

A Cease and Desist Letter is used to refrain or stop the recipient from a specific behavior or activity. You can use this Cease and Desist Letter to stop harassment by a collection agency, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, verbal harassment and a variety of other situations.

In general, a Cease and Desist letter is used to request that a specific action stop or discontinue immediately. A Cease and Desist letter can be used to cover a wide variety of issue from personal to business needs. A few examples are as follows

Trademark Violation You want to demand that another party stop using a trademark that is identical or confusingly similar to your trademark.

Infringement Occurs when another entity or individual violates your rights to a particular trademark copyright, patent or other copyrightable material. This also includes unauthorized use of your property such as an article, book or other written work, photos, video or other media.

Defamation of Character Occurs when another entity or individual is spreading false information or statements about you or your business which are harmful to you or your business’ character.
Harassment regarding fraudulent credit card charges Repeated harassing phone calls by a particular company seeking payment on a credit card for charges made while your credit card was stolen or the account was hacked into.

Harassment due to nonpayment of debts Repeated harassing phone calls due to your failure to make routine payments on a debt due to your inability to pay.

Personal Disputes with neighbors, landlords, roommates, etc Includes any dispute with your neighbor regarding behavior that negatively affects your ability to live on your property. Examples include; noise concerns, property line disputes, failure to abide by association rules or obligations as agreed, etc.

It is important when using a Cease and Desist letter to be prepared to take the necessary follow up steps if the violating party does not discontinue the actions outlined in the letter. Failure to follow through can hurt your chances of success.

If your passport has been lost or stolen you should report it immediately to the U.S. Department of State to prevent fraud. However, if your identity has been stolen you should contact the U.S. Department of State even if your passport has not been lost or stolen. By contacting the U.S. Department of State it will be alerted if the ID thief attempts to commit passport fraud.
The phone number for the U.S. Department of State, Passport Services is 202 9550430. In addition, you should send a letter to follow up or as first contact with the U.S. Department of State alerting them to the identity theft and allowing them to watch for suspicious activity involving your passport.

Use this letter to put the DMV on notice to be more aware of suspicious activity regarding your drivers license. Before placing the fraud alert, the DMV may require proof of fraudulent activity. You can use this letter to send the necessary documentation.

If your driver's license is lost or stolen, or if you suspect that it has been or will be fraudulently used, you should report your concerns to the Department of Motor Vehicles DMV immediately. Ask how to obtain a replacement card and request that a fraud alert be placed on your license.

Except in unusual circumstances, you will have to appear in person at your local DMV office to obtain a new card.

This letter should be used to follow up with the U.S. Department of State or local passport office if your passport was lost or stolen.

If your passport has been lost or stolen you should report it immediately to the U.S. Department of State to prevent fraud. The number to call is 202 9550430. In addition, you should file U.S. Department of State Form DS64 Statement Regarding Lost or Stolen Passport at your local passport office or you may mail it to

U.S. Department of State Passport Services Consular Lost/Stolen Passport Section 1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20036

You may find a local passport office designated by the U.S. Department of State by clicking here. Often the local passport offices are located at post offices, libraries, or federal courthouses.The U.S. Department of State may request additional documentation, but include copies of the following, if available 

A copy of the Police Report. A copy of your driver's license or another form of identification e.g., a social security card. A copy of any other documentation or information about the lost or stolen passport and how you became aware of it.

For further information about the information you'll need to file a police report, see Police Report Information Collection.After you have reported the passport lost or stolen, it will be invalid for any further use by anyone. If you subsequently find or recover the passport you must immediately return it to the U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 205221705 or to the nearest passport agency.

If you are the victim of theft, the first thing you should do is contact the police. The police will request that you visit the police station so that you can be interviewed and an official police report can be prepared. You can use this document if you have additional or more detailed information to provide to the police after completing the initial police report.

Credit card companies, banks, insurance agencies and other entities that you might be contacting as part of the resolution process will want proof that you have been involved in a theft incident. A completed police report is evidence that you have been the victim of theft. It demonstrates that you are serious about remedying the problem.

The purpose of this letter is to notify the Social Security Administration SSA office that your social security number has been misused. The SSA's Office of the Inspector General OIG has established a Fraud Hotline for reporting social security number misuse. The OIG is a law enforcement branch that investigates cases of identity theft.

In addition to contacting the Fraud Hotline so that a fraud investigation can be started, you should also verify the accuracy of the earnings reported in your social security record. To do this, request a copy of your social security earnings statement. This statement lists all earnings that have been posted to your social security record. To obtain a copy of this statement, use the document entitled Social Security

Request Earnings Statement.
You should receive the statement in 4 to 6 weeks. If there are any errors or discrepancies in the statement, you should immediately notify the Fraud Hotline.

The purpose of this letter is to notify your local postal inspector that mail theft has occurred. If you determine that you have been the victim of mail theft, contact the nearest United States Postal Inspection Service USPIS office. The USPIS is responsible for investigating cases of mail theft.

The purpose of this letter is to notify your local postal inspector that mail theft has occurred. If you determine that you have been the victim of mail theft, contact the nearest United States Postal Inspection Service USPIS office. The USPIS is responsible for investigating cases of mail theft. You can locate the nearest USPIS district office by calling your local post office, calling the United States Post Office at 800 2758777, or visiting them online.

Call the postal inspector at the nearest USPIS office to report the theft. Complete a a Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint Form Postal Service Form 2016 and send it back to the USPIS office with a cover letter so that the USPIS can conduct an investigation of the theft.

Note You should call the nearest postal inspector's office to obtain the complaint form prior to sending this letter. After completing the complaint form, use this letter as a cover letter to send the complaint form back to the postal inspector.

This letter is used to report an identity theft incident to the Secret Service and request an investigation.

The United States Secret Service investigates identity theft, credit card fraud, check fraud, telemarketing fraud and computer fraud. If you are the victim of identity theft, then you may want to use this letter to report the theft to the Secret Service and request an investigation. You should first file a complaint with the FTC and your local police department before contacting the Secret Service. The Secret Service works closely with the FTC and the local police department.

While the Secret Service does investigate identity theft, it does not begin an investigation of all identity theft cases; but rather only those that are of a high dollar amount or are in some other way peculiar.

Generally, the Secret Service will refer you to the local authorities to investigate complaints. However, it may be helpful to report an individual identity theft to the Secret Service because it may be indicative of a large identity theft ring or conspiracy something the Secret Service may choose to investigate.

If you would prefer to call the United States Secret Service first, the national phone number for the Secret Service is 202 4065708, but you may receive faster service if you call the Secret Service's nearest field office. The nearest field office to you may be found on the Secret Service web site.

This letter is used to send documents to the FBI verifying an identity theft incident and requesting that an investigation be conducted. If you are a victim of Identity Theft and want to report it to the FBI, contact your local field office first, then use this letter to follow up with additional information.

The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act makes it a violation of federal law to steal or misuse someone's personal identifying information. The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI encourages the public to report any suspected violations of U.S. federal law. Therefore, if you have been the victim of an identity theft incident, you should contact the FBI field office that is located nearest you. For a complete list of FBI field offices, visit the FBI's web site.

After you have made an initial contact with your local FBI field office, you can then send this letter as a followup. With the letter you can send documents verifying the identity theft incident and request that an investigation be conducted. The letter will also insure that the FBI has all of the necessary contact information.

If your theft incident involved the use of the internet, you can also file a complaint online at the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center IFCC.

This letter provides the format for writing letters to members of congress, governors, and other government officials.

Every year, Staff Directories, Ltd. publishes a current list of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all members of the United States Congress. This publication is entitled Congressional Staff Directory and can be found at your local library.

The purpose of this letter is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission FTC regarding unauthorized disclosure of your personal information.

Although the FTC online complaint form may be more applicable to instances where a victim has purchased merchandise or paid money as directed by a company or individual, it can also be used to report problems regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information. If you choose to file your complaint online, then you should print a copy of the complaint before submitting it to the FTC.

You may use this letter to follow up with the FTC regarding your complaint. Alternatively, you may choose to use this letter to make an initial complaint regarding unauthorized disclosure of your personal information, simply because this letter is directed more specifically to unauthorized disclosure issues.

The purpose of this letter is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission FTC regarding identity theft. You may also call the FTC and make the complaint 1877ID THEFT.

If you choose to file your complaint online, then you should print a copy of the complaint before submitting it to the FTC. You may use this letter to follow up with the FTC regarding your complaint or you may choose to use this letter to make an initial complaint regarding your identity theft. While the FTC does not investigate individual occurrences of identity theft, it does act as a clearinghouse which investigates fraud and can lead to law enforcement action. For instance, if the rate at which identity theft is currently growing continues at such a high level, the government may begin to enact stronger policies against this crime.

This letter is used to request information from certain government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.

The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act FOIA is to encourage public access to government information and to enable individual citizens to obtain such information without administrative burdens.

This law was passed in an effort to overcome restrictive agency interpretations of government regulations which were being used to withhold information from the public. Disclosure of federal agency activities tends to hold government officials accountable and promotes an informed citizenry to serve as a check against corruption. These goals are vital to the functioning of a democratic society.

FOIA requests are relatively simple to prepare and easy to file. These requests usually require modest charges for record searches and document copying. Provisions of the FOIA specifically provide for reduction or waivers of search and duplication costs for journalists, historians, and other academicians. Also, the fees may be waived or reduced for private individuals who can substantiate their claim that the information will significantly contribute to the public's understanding of the operations or activities of the government. The FOIA ensures the public's access to government records, except those records falling within nine legal exemptions. However, the FOIA is NOT intended as a means for private individuals to find out what types of facts or opinions foreign, state, or local law enforcement agencies have collected about private parties.

The FOIA covers the executive branch of the federal government. Generally any executive agency of the federal government that makes decisions and is essentially controlled by the federal government is subject to the FOIA. Government corporations such as Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDIC, Tennessee Valley Authority TVA, the Postal Service and Amtrak are also subject to the FOIA. However, neither Congress legislative branch nor the Courts judicial branch are subject to the FOIA. Further, an entity that merely serves as a consultant is not covered by the FOIA. For example, the Library of

Congress is not covered by the FOIA because it is part of the legislative branch.

You may want to refer to The United States Government Organization Manual, available at most libraries, to assist you in identifying the appropriate agency to contact. This publication describes the various agency functions and will assist you in locating the agency that may have the information you desire. Also, you may contact the agency's Public Affairs or Freedom of Information office by telephone to discuss the best method to identify the requested material.

This letter will help you appeal a federal agency's unsatisfactory response to your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act does not depend upon a showing of need or interest by a particular applicant. If an agency's response to your FOIA request has not been satisfactory, you may write an appeal letter.

For example, an appeal is appropriate if an agency
Denied your request in whole or in part;Denied your fee waiver/reduction request;Charged excessive fees;Failed to properly identify the basis for an exemption; orFailed to respond to your request.

When an agency denies your request, it is required to inform you of your right to appeal its decision. It also must provide the name and title of the person who denied your request and to whom you should direct your appeal. Your appeal should be made within the time frame specified in the agency's response generally 30 days. If the stated time for your appeal has expired, you may still send your appeal and the agency may consider it. If not, you still have the option of beginning the process again with a new FOIA request for the same material.You actually may write several appeals, each dealing with a different aspect of the agency's response. For example, initially you may appeal the denial of your request for waiver or reduction of fees. After you receive a partial or full denial of the materials requested, you may decide to appeal the exemptions that are claimed.

If you are not satisfied with the agency's response to your appeal, the FOIA also provides for judicial court resolution of any dispute regarding an agency's failure to provide information as required by the FOIA. Contact an attorney regarding your judicial appeal rights.

This worksheet is used to collect and organize the information that is needed to file and process a claim against a person or organization in small claims court.

Most states have set up a small claims division of District Court in each county to provide an inexpensive and speedy method to settle most civil disputes involving money or personal property valued at several thousand dollars or less. Each state has set its own maximum value of a dispute that may be brought into small claims court. The procedures of the court are informal, and while some states allow a lawyer to appear with the plaintiff, Small Claims Court is designed to let the plaintiff represent him/herself. The personnel at the courthouse are there to serve and will be glad to answer questions about various procedural matters. The plaintiff The basic filing fees generally range from 25 to 50, and the judge or hearing officer may order that these costs should remember, however, that the clerks and the judges cannot give legal advice.

Ceilings on Amounts Claimed and Filing Fees The amount that may be sought in Small Claims Court varies from state to state. The amounts range from 1,000 to 15,000. See Jurisdictional Amounts for a statespecific list of maximum amounts. be paid by the party who loses the case.

The Court Hearing Process In Small Claims Court, the two parties involved in the dispute go to the court at a preassigned time and each party tells their side of the story to the judge with the plaintiff going first. The plaintiff has the burden of proving that there is liability on the part of the defendant, that the defendant caused the damages suffered by the plaintiff, and the amount of the damages. The judge makes a decision based on the law as applied to the facts presented. No juries are used in Small Claims Court. Most states allow the losing party to appeal a small claims judgment.

This letter can be used to make a written complaint to the Better Business Bureau BBB about a company's policies or practices for handling customer lists or other information such as personnel or legal records that may have contributed to the cause of an identity theft incident.

Note You should contact the company that is the subject of the complaint first, and use this letter as a next step if the company is unresponsive to you. Prior to sending this letter to the BBB, you may wish to call first to find out if there is any specific documentation that should be submitted with your request. Generally, you should contact your local office of the BBB. To find the office nearest you, go to the BBB's web site at www.bbb.com.

This letter can be used to make a written complaint to the office of an attorney general AG about a company's policies or practices for handling customer lists or other information such as personnel or legal records that may have contributed to the cause of an identity theft incident.

Note You should first contact the company itself, and use this letter as a next step, if the company is unresponsive to you. Prior to sending this letter to the AG's office, you may wish to call first to find out if there is any specific documentation that should be submitted with your request.

Generally, you should contact the AG's office for the state in which you are a resident. Call first to be sure that you have the correct address for your specific issues. Many states have several different mailing addresses for their AG offices.

This letter is used to make a written complaint regarding a product or service to the Better Business Bureau or an Attorney General's Office.

PLEASE NOTE To complete your complaint letter, you will need to print and mail or fax the Complaint Letter to a Better Business Bureau or Attorney General you create.It is best to try to resolve consumer complaint issues with the company who sold you the service or product before writing the Attorney General's office or Better Business Bureau BBB. The Complaint Letter to a Company in this program can help you write a letter to the company. If, after contacting the company and allowing them sufficient time to respond, you do not receive a satisfactory response, then you may want to write to the Attorney General's office or Better Business Bureau.

A Waiver of Service is a document that allows a party to waive the requirement of formal service in a lawsuit or legal action.

In any legal action the person who starts the lawsuit or commences the legal action is required to serve the other party Defendant or Respondent with certain documents notifying the other party that an action has been started. In the event of time and cost, some Defendant's choose to sign a Waiver of Service in lieu of requiring the Plaintiff to hire and pay for a process server or court official to serve the Defendant. This document can be used to list all documents received by the Defendant and make a sworn statement regarding the receipt of these forms. This document does not serve as a formal response to the lawsuit. The Defendant will need to make a response to the allegations or facts alleged within the required amount of time or the Plaintiff may be entitled to a default judgment in the matter.

Use this letter to inform your neighbor of a problem and to request that action be taken to solve the problem. This letter will also help to establish a record of your complaint in case the issue needs to be brought to the attention of local law enforcement agencies.

A Waiver of Service is a document that allows a party to waive the requirement of formal service in a lawsuit or legal action.

This Acceptance of Service can be used when a Defendant or Respondent is willing to voluntarily acknowledge receipt of the starting documents in a legal action. Without an Acceptance of Service or similar document the Plaintiff or person starting the action must hire a process server or use a method of mailing with delivery confirmation to obtain the required proof. Without proof of service of the starting documents in a legal action the action cannot proceed to a resolution. This type of documents is not a waiver of the Defendant's rights to respond to the legal action and it should not be considered a response. The Defendant will still need to prepare a Response if they are not in agreement with the facts placed in the Summons and Complaint.

A General Liability Release of Claims is a broad release from all possible claims resulting from a dispute. The releasing party gives up all known and unknown claims against the other party, often in exchange for monetary or other compensation.