For You · Deadline Watch

Never miss the date that decides it.

A summons, a court notice, an eviction letter. Take a photo. Deadline Watch reads the paper, finds the dates it sets, tells you in plain English what it says, and reminds you while there is still time to act.

Talk to UsMy File

Not legal advice; Demojura is not a law firm.

Why It Matters

Most Cases Are Lost by a Date, Not an Argument.

When a person does not answer a lawsuit in time, the court can decide it without hearing their side. Most people who are sued have no lawyer to read the paper for them. The paper itself is the only warning they get.

70%+1

of debt collection lawsuits

ended in a default judgment over a decade, in the courts with data. Most were decided because no one answered.

2%2

of consumers sued for a debt

in Virginia had a lawyer, against 79% of the collectors suing them.

1%2

of tenants facing eviction

in Virginia had a lawyer. Landlords had one 68% of the time.

3 in 43

civil cases in state courts

have at least one side with no lawyer. For them, the paper in the mailbox is the whole warning.

  1. 1 Pew, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts (2020)
  2. 2 LSC, Legal Representation in Virginia: Debt Collection and Eviction Cases
  3. 3 National Center for State Courts, Landscape of Civil Litigation

How It Works

From the Mailbox to the Calendar.

  1. 01SnapTake a photo of the paper, every page, or forward the email it came in.
  2. 02ReadEvery line is read, with its place on the page kept.
  3. 03Find the datesThe dates printed on the paper, and the ones it tells you to count.
  4. 04Plain EnglishWhat kind of paper it is and what it says, line by line, without the jargon.
  5. 05RemindOn your calendar, with reminders early enough to act on.
  6. 06Get helpLegal Aid, the court’s self-help center or a lawyer, with the paper attached.

The Rules It Runs By

A Date You Can Trust, or a Call to Make.

A wrong date is worse than none. Deadline Watch is built to be right, to show how it got there, and to send you to a person whenever it cannot be sure.

  1. I
    It shows its work.

    Every date points to the line on the paper it came from, and how it was counted.

  2. II
    It never guesses silently.

    If a date is unclear, it says so, and tells you who can confirm it: the clerk, the court’s self-help center or a lawyer.

  3. III
    Information, never advice.

    It tells you what the paper says. What to do about it is a question for a licensed lawyer, and it makes reaching one easier.

  4. IV
    Help is one tap away.

    Legal Aid of North Carolina, the North Carolina Bar Association’s referral service, and 911 or 988 if anyone is in danger.

  5. V
    The paper stays yours.

    Kept in My File if you want it, deleted if you do not. Never sold.

What It Reads

The Papers That Come with a Clock.

Summons and complaintsThe papers that start a lawsuit, and the time they give you to answer.
Court date noticesWhen and where, what courtroom, and what the notice says to bring.
Eviction noticesWhat kind of notice it is and the dates it sets.
Collection lettersWho is collecting, for whom, how much, and the dates in the letter.
Traffic citationsThe court date, the county and what the citation says your options are.
Agency lettersBenefits, licenses, taxes: the response date and where to send it.

What Comes Next

A Date Found Early Leaves Time to Get Help.

Deadline Watch keeps the paper in your file, and your file can go straight to a lawyer. The time you saved is time a lawyer can use.

The PaperDeadline WatchThe dates found, explained and on your calendar.
Your StoryMy FileThe timeline, the papers and your questions.How My File Works
Before the DateA lawyer, readyLegal Aid, the self-help center or a firm, with everything attached.
Talk to UsRead Your Rights