Legal Definitions - short summons

A short summons is a type of legal document that requires a defendant to appear in court and respond to a plaintiff's claim. It is called a "short" summons because it has a response time that is shorter than that of an ordinary summons. This type of summons is usually served on a fraudulent or nonresident debtor.

For example, if a plaintiff believes that a debtor is trying to avoid paying a debt by moving out of state, they may request a short summons to be served on the debtor. The short summons would require the debtor to appear in court within a shorter time frame than an ordinary summons, making it more difficult for the debtor to avoid the legal process.

Short summons is just one type of summons. Other types include:

• Alias summons: A second summons issued after the original summons has failed for some reason.
• John Doe summons: A summons to a person whose name is unknown at the time of service.
• Judgment summons: A process used by a judgment creditor to start an action against a judgment debtor to enforce the judgment.
• Third-party record-custodian summons: A summons from the Internal Revenue Service to a third party to provide information on an unnamed, unknown taxpayer with potential tax liability.

Overall, a short summons is a legal tool used to ensure that a defendant appears in court and responds to a plaintiff's claim within a shorter time frame than an ordinary summons.