| name | summons-service-packet |
| title | Summons and Service Packet |
| description | Drafts court-ready summons and service packets for civil personal injury litigation. Produces civil cover sheet, summons, complaint shell, service instructions, proof of service, and filing checklist with federal/state jurisdictional compliance. Use when preparing initial filing packages, commencing lawsuits, drafting summons forms, or assembling service of process documents. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/summons-service-packet |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | personal-injury |
| language | en |
Summons and Service Packet
Drafts a complete initial filing package to commence a personal injury civil action and effectuate valid service on all defendants.
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Complaint/allegations — factual basis, parties, claims, damages
- Party identification — full legal names, addresses, entity types, citizenship/domicile
- Jurisdictional facts — basis (federal question, diversity, state), amount in controversy, venue
- Target court — local rules reviewed for filing requirements and mandatory forms
Packet Components
Draft all components in filing order with identical captions across every document.
1. Civil Cover Sheet
Include: case caption (exact party names), nature of suit code, jurisdictional basis (28 U.S.C. § 1331/1332 or state), special designations (class action/mass tort if applicable), filing fee amount, attorney info (name, bar number, firm, contact), and e-filing instructions.
2. Summons (one per defendant)
Each summons must contain: court name/address, space for case number, party names matching complaint, command to appear, response deadline, default judgment warning (verbatim statutory text if prescribed), and clerk signature/seal line.
Response deadlines: Federal = 21 days (FRCP 12(a)(1)(A)(i)); state = typically 30 days [VERIFY]; government = often 60 days (FRCP 12(a)(2)-(3)).
Use court-prescribed summons form if jurisdiction mandates a specific template.
3. Complaint Shell
Structure in this order:
- Caption — identical to summons
- Jurisdictional Allegations — subject matter jurisdiction (statutory cite), personal jurisdiction, venue (28 U.S.C. § 1391 or state equivalent); for diversity: each party's citizenship, amount > $75,000
- Parties — each in separate numbered paragraph with entity type, incorporation state/PPB, or domicile
- Factual Allegations — chronological numbered paragraphs; meet Twombly/Iqbal plausibility standard (federal); FRCP 9(b) particularity for fraud counts
- Counts — separate heading per cause of action; incorporate prior paragraphs by reference; cite statutory/common law basis; match elements to facts
- Prayer for Relief — compensatory damages (specific or "exceeds $75,000"), punitive damages if permitted, pre/post-judgment interest, costs and fees (cite basis), equitable relief
- Jury Demand — include unless waiver is intended
