§ 16467 Defendant Response Deadline

• •Defendant must answer within three days if they appear in court.
• •If the defendant does not appear, the court records a default.
• •The court then proceeds with the case as quickly as possible.

John is sued and appears at his first court hearing. The judge tells him he has three days to file his written answer. John files it on day 2, so the case continues normally. If John had skipped the hearing, the judge would write down that he didn’t appear and would keep the case moving quickly.

The law forces a quick answer when the defendant is present, and it lets the court keep going fast when the defendant is absent.