Settlement can happen at any time. You can negotiate a lump sum, a payment plan, or a dismissal in exchange for proof that the account was paid or resolved. If you reach a deal, make sure the terms are put in writing and the case is dismissed in court.

If you are sued in Illinois for a consumer debt of more than $10,000, your case will be handled under the regular civil rules.

Cases between $10,000 and $50,000 also follow special timelines because they are eligible for court-annexed mandatory arbitration and simplified discovery. 

The steps below explain what to expect and when key deadlines happen.

The Complaint & Summons

The creditor starts the lawsuit by filing a Complaint. The Complaint states how much the creditor says you owe, and it may attach records about the account.

The clerk then issues a Summons. If the case is for less than $50,000 or is subject to mandatory arbitration, the Summons will give you a specific court date called a return date.

If the case is for more than $50,000, the Summons will tell you to file your appearance and a written response to the lawsuit within 30 days after you are served.

You must be formally served with the Summons and Complaint. Service is usually done by the sheriff or a licensed private process server, and the papers can be handed to you or left with a household member who is at least 13 and then mailed to you. Courts can also approve alternative service in special circumstances.

Appearance and Answer or Motion to Dismiss

To participate in the case, you file an Appearance with the court and pay the appearance fee.

If your Summons says to appear within 30 days, you must file your Appearance within 30 days after you were served.

If your Summons has a specific return date, you must appear by that date, and if you file a written Appearance instead of an Answer before that date, you have 10 additional days after the return date to file your response. You can ask for a jury trial when you file your Appearance.

You can also choose how to respond to the Complaint. You can file an Answer that admits or denies the plaintiff’s claims, or you can file a motion asking the court to dismiss the case for legal reasons.

A motion to dismiss can argue that:

• The complaint was filed in the wrong place,
• The complaint doesn't include enough information to be a legal claim, or
• The lawsuit was filed too late, and  the statute of limitations applies

If you file a motion, the judge will set the new deadline to file your Answer if the motion is denied.

If you miss your deadline and the judge enters a default judgment, you still have options. Within 30 days of the judgment, you can ask the court to vacate it, and the court can grant relief to do substantial justice. After 30 days, you must file a separate petition and meet stricter requirements.

Initial case management status hearing

In most cases, the first court date will be a status hearing and the judge may set a schedule for discovery.

In debt cases between $10,000 and $50,000, you will have simplified discovery under Supreme Court Rule 222. This requires early disclosures of your witnesses, documents, and the basic facts and legal theories of your claims or defenses. If Rule 222 applies, disclosures are due generally within 120 days after the Answer is filed.  Evidence not disclosed on time can be excluded from the case.

Discovery

Discovery is the formal process for both sides to exchange information and evidence. Either side can:

• Interrogatories are written questions that the other side is required to answer. Under limited discovery, each side can only ask 30 questions. Each subpart or section counts as a separate interrogatory.
• Requests for documents ask the other side to produce documents relevant to the case.
• Requests to admit asks the other side to agree to certain facts. 
  Do not miss this deadline: If you don’t respond in time, the court may accept all the statements as true.
• Depositions are when one side asks the other side questions in person, under oath, with a court reporter present. Under limited discovery, most depositions can last no more than 3 hours.
• Subpoenas can be used to get information or documents from people or companies who are not parties in the case. 

Answers to interrogatories and responses to document requests are usually due in 28 days, and requests to admit must be answered in 28 days or they can be deemed admitted. If Rule 222 applies, there are limits such as a cap of 30 total interrogatories and a three-hour limit for most depositions unless the court allows more. Subpoenas can be used to get discovery from people or companies not involved in the case. If someone fails to cooperate with discovery, the judge can impose penalties.

Mandatory arbitration

If your case is eligible, the court will schedule an arbitration hearing. In most counties, cases seeking $50,000 or less are sent to a three-lawyer arbitration panel for a hearing. After hearing evidence, the panel will enter a written award.

If you don’t agree with the written award, you can file a Rejection of Award with the court. You may have to pay costs for filing a rejection or ask the court to waive the fee if you can’t afford it.

If you reject the award, your case will proceed to trial. 

Motions for summary judgment

If the case does not resolve at arbitration, the court will set it on a trial track. Before trial, either side can file a motion to ask for summary judgment if there are no genuine disputes of material fact, and the judge can decide the case based on the law and written evidence. 

Trial

 If the case goes to trial, the creditor must prove the debt and the amount owed, and you can present defenses and evidence. You can also raise defenses, such as the debt being too old under the statute of limitations. The judge or a jury will decide whether or not you owe the debt. The judge will enter a Judgment that states who won the case and if any party is owed money

Judgment

If a judgment is entered against you, interest will be added. For consumer debt judgments of $25,000 or less, the post-judgment interest rate is 5% per year. For larger consumer judgments, the rate is typically 9%. You can stop more interest from accruing by paying the judgment, costs, and interest to date.

Appeals

If you think the court made a legal error with the judgment, you can appeal the case. You typically have 30 days to file a notice of appeal. Appeals courts do not hear new evidence or retry the case. It reviews the record from the trial court to see if the judge made legal errors. Filing an appeal does not stop the creditor from enforcing the judgment, but you can file a motion to stay the enforcement.

Enforcing the judgment

If the creditor wins the case and gets a judgment, it can try to collect a judgment by:

• Garnishing up to 15% of your wages,
• Freezing your bank account, or
• Putting a lien on your house or other property.
   

At least $675 of your wages each week are protected from garnishment, and you can protect up to $4,000 in your bank account by filing papers with the court.

Pay careful attention if you receive a Citation to Discover Assets to Debtor. This document requires you to go to court to give the debt collector information about your finances. You must attend this hearing. If you miss the hearing, you could be found in contempt of court and jailed.

Some income and property are protected by exemptions. Missing a citation hearing or ignoring court orders can lead to contempt.