Alaska Court System, CIV-720 Eviction Booklet

Citation: Alaska Court System, CIV-720 Eviction Booklet
Jurisdiction: Alaska (state)
Source: Official source
Original Source: https://public.courts.alaska.gov/web/forms/docs/civ-720.pdf ↗

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CIV-720 EVICTION BOOKLET (8/23) 13
D. Answering the Damages Claim
In addition to asking for your eviction, the complaint will usually ask for a
judgment against you for damages. This can include things like past due rent,
other damages “in an amount to be proved in court,” and costs and attorney fees.
You must file a written answer if you
a. Disagree with the amount of unpaid rent, or
b. Disagree with the plaintiff’s claim that you caused other damages, or
c. Have a counterclaim you want to bring against the plaintiff.
Note: The complaint does not have to specifically say what the additional damages
are, because the plaintiff may not be able to see what the damages are until the
plaintiff gets possession back of the property. To find out exactly what damages the
plaintiff is going to claim, you must file an answer opposing the complaint. When
you find out what the plaintiff is claiming as damages, you may be able to defend
argue that the “damage” was simply ordinary wear and tear (and not the result of
abusive living) or that the damage occurred before you moved in. See page 21 of
the Landlord Tenant Booklet for more information about damages.
It is not enough to object at the eviction hearing to the amount of damages claimed.
You must file a written answer if you don’t want a default judgment against you.
Your answer must be filed within 20 days after you are served with the summons.
Even if the eviction hearing is before the 20 days are passed, you still get 20 days.
Even though you do not necessarily need to file it before the eviction hearing, you
should do it as soon as possible. You may use court form CIV-735, Answer to
F.E.D. (Eviction) Complaint. Fill out the form as follows (type or print neatly using
black ink):
1. Caption. Fill out the top of the form (the