I am a landlord with a rental property in Denver but I live out of state. My property manager just emailed me a copy of a court summons that was given to my tenants (the summons is for me.) Is this a legal way to deliver a court summons or does it have to be in person?

The summons refers to a 'debt' I owe to the Homeowners Association (HOA) of the condo complex where the rental property is located. Apparently the HOA changed property managers in Sept07 but since I continued to send my HOA dues to the old property management company an outstanding balance has developed with the new property mgmt company. I have called the new property management company to sort out the issue and they said there's nothing they can do since it's been turned over to the lawyers/debt collectors. I've called the law firm twice and have sent an email and a letter summarizing the situation and my intent to straighten things out but have not gotten any response. It appears I have no choice but to respond to the court summons by appealing in writing. Is this correct? Will I be able to defend myself without needing to travel back to Colorado? Am I jeopardizing my position/argument by responding to the court summons?

In summary, I just want to straighten the situation out with the HOA and get my account up to date but the legal process seems to be making that difficult. The new mgmt company has cashed a few of the checks (they must have been forwarded from the old mgmt company) and I have proof of that so at a minimum the amount that the debt collector is sueing for is wrong.

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you can provide!

I am a landlord with a rental property in Denver but I live out of state. My property manager just emailed me a copy of a court summons that was given to my tenants (the summons is for me.) Is this a legal way to deliver a court summons or does it have to be in person?

The summons refers to a 'debt' I owe to the Homeowners Association (HOA) of the condo complex where the rental property is located. Apparently the HOA changed property managers in Sept07 but since I continued to send my HOA dues to the old property management company an outstanding balance has developed with the new property mgmt company. I have called the new property management company to sort out the issue and they said there's nothing they can do since it's been turned over to the lawyers/debt collectors. I've called the law firm twice and have sent an email and a letter summarizing the situation and my intent to straighten things out but have not gotten any response. It appears I have no choice but to respond to the court summons by appealing in writing. Is this correct? Will I be able to defend myself without needing to travel back to Colorado? Am I jeopardizing my position/argument by responding to the court summons?

In summary, I just want to straighten the situation out with the HOA and get my account up to date but the legal process seems to be making that difficult. The new mgmt company has cashed a few of the checks (they must have been forwarded from the old mgmt company) and I have proof of that so at a minimum the amount that the debt collector is sueing for is wrong.

Thanks in advance for any help or insight you can provide!


Some of legal age CAN accept papers on your behalf. However - I would protest this. My argument would be that the tenant had no legal connection to you, no authority to accept papers on your behalf, no authorization at all. Therefore, it is NOT legal service. I'm a process server - I would NEVER serve a person living at another person's residence after the first person moved out. Never.

That being said - you know it's pending, they will undoubtedly simply serve you again (properly). And, yes, to make sure there is no Judgment against you would have to appear.

If they get the Judgment against you that will guarantee they will be paid - often following the Judgment the creditor is willing to make payment arrangements, particularly because you aren't denying the debt.

I would answer the summons anyway after making sure the info is basically correct but unless you have a legal argument I would expect a Judgment to be taken against you. It is always a mistake not to respond to a summons that you know has been served to someone, someplace.

If you do not owe this money you have an action against the old HOA - if they kept your money - for every penny they didn't turn over. Unfortunately, it would be back in Colorado. You could, in theory, countersue if you have a lawsuit against the party suing you but in Small Claims Court you cannot bring in a third party.

Personally I would write a letter (requesting a delivery receipt) to the original HOA, the new HOA and the law firm stating very simply, no big explanations - that you paid X dollars on these dates, have the cancelled checks to prove it, and the problem is between them. Don't know if will make a difference but I sure would do it -