Where Your Attorney Files an Answer or Motion in a New Jersey Business Lawsuit

Summary For Business Owners

• If your business is an LLC or corporation and it is the named defendant in any  New Jersey Superior Court other than Small Claims, you are required to respond through a licensed New Jersey civil litigation attorney.

• Your attorney confirms the county and docket number, which determine where the filing must be submitted.

• The docket letters on your Summons and Complaint show the court part where your case is pending

• Most business filings are submitted electronically by your attorney; 

• When paper filing is required, your attorney files by mail or in person with the appropriate Superior Court clerk’s office for that county and court part.

If you have been following our civil litigation article series, you already have a working understanding of the business lawsuit in front of you and how New Jersey civil procedure moves through the Superior Court. You also know that missing the time limit can put you at risk of default judgment, which is why your response matters.

At this point, you already know:

• What the summons and complaint mean

• The different parties in the lawsuit

• The different parts of the New Jersey Superior Court, and where your case is headed

• What to do once you know you’re being sued

• How to respond after being served

• The importance of proof of service

Most importantly, you now know whether you need a New Jersey civil litigation attorney to move forward. Our previous article explains this in detail: if your business is the defendant, it is an LLC or corporation, and the case is filed anywhere in the New Jersey Superior Court other than the Small Claims section, court rules generally require the business to respond through a licensed attorney.

With that in mind, the next practical question becomes: where will your New Jersey civil litigation attorney file the answer or motion for your business? This article breaks down the correct filing location based on your docket number, court part, and county, so you understand what office receives the paperwork and how the filing typically happens.

Start With the Summons and Complaint: Court, County, and Time Limit

To determine where the case gets filed, your attorney will start with two details from the summons and complaint: the county and the docket number. Those details control which county office receives filings for the case, whether the filing is an Answer or a motion requesting a court order.

The letters in the docket number are especially important because they identify the court part handling the civil action.

Where Your Attorney Files the Answer or Motion

• Law Division, Civil Part

If the case is in the Law Division, Civil Part, your New Jersey civil litigation attorney will file the business’s Answer or motion with the Civil Division Case Management Office for the county where the case was filed.

• Law Division, Special Civil Part

If the case is in the Special Civil Part, your attorney will file the business’s response with the Special Civil Part office for the county where the case was filed.

• Chancery Division, General Equity Part

If the case is in the Chancery Division, General Equity Part, filings are handled through the clerk’s office in the county where the case was filed, and the timing is often driven by the court’s order or the applicable motion schedule. Your attorney will file the original documents with the clerk of the Superior Court for that county and serve copies on the other side as required.

How Your Attorney Files: Online, Mail, or in Person

Now that we have covered where filings go, the next practical issue is how the filing is submitted. For LLC and corporation defendants in the New Jersey Superior Court, your New Jersey civil litigation attorney handles the filing and service steps, using the method required for that court and county.

Online Filing (Electronic Submission)

In most Superior Court business cases, your attorney will submit the Answer or motion electronically through the Judiciary’s attorney e-filing systems used for that docket type.

If your business is a sole proprietorship, or the case has been filed in the Small Claims Section of the New Jersey Superior Court, you are allowed to use the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS). It allows you to upload your documents and pay the required filing fee when you apply.

You can submit through JEDS at any time, and the court clerk’s office processes submissions during business hours. JEDS also has a timing rule worth knowing: documents submitted by 11:59 p.m. receive that same day’s filed date.

Filing by Mail

Some filings may still be handled on paper depending on the case type, the court’s requirements, or the circumstances. If paper filing is used, your attorney files through the county office tied to the docket number.

Filing in Person

If a filing is submitted in person, your attorney delivers it to the same county clerk’s office that would receive it by mail. The correct courthouse location is still determined by the docket number and county. Instead of mailing the documents, your attorney brings the paper copies directly to the court clerk’s office at the courthouse for filing.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you understand where your civil litigation attorney files your Answer or motion in a New Jersey lawsuit, and how that filing ties back to your summons, docket, and county. In the next article in this series, we will break down the fees that can come up when your attorney responds, including what the filing fee covers and when a fee may apply.

Are you wondering about any of the issues mentioned above? Please email us at Info@staturelegal.law or call (732) 320-9831 for assistance.

At Stature Legal, we give business owners the clarity they need to fund, grow, protect, and sell their businesses. We are trustworthy business advisors keeping your business on TRACK: Trustworthy. Reliable. Available. Caring. Knowledgeable.®

FAQs

How Does a Business File an Answer in New Jersey?

If the business is an LLC or corporation, it generally must respond through a licensed New Jersey attorney. Your attorney will review the summons and complaint to confirm the county and court part (Law Division Civil Part, Special Civil Part, or General Equity), then file the business’s Answer or an appropriate motion with the clerk’s office for that county.

Filing is often done electronically through the Judiciary’s attorney e-filing systems, with service made on the plaintiff’s attorney (or the plaintiff if unrepresented). If you are a sole proprietor, the rules are different because the case is treated as being against you personally, and you may be permitted to file without counsel depending on the court part.

How Many Days Does a Business Have to File an Answer in New Jersey?

Under New Jersey Court Rule 4:6-1, a defendant usually has 35 days from the date they were served with the summons and complaint to file an Answer. Because missing the deadline can lead to default, you should get counsel involved early so deadlines are calendared and the correct first response is prepared.