I was just served with a lawsuit. What do I do first?

A Texas lawsuit generally requires a response by a specific deadline after service, and missing it can result in a default judgment against you without ever having your side heard. That single fact should drive everything you do in the first few days.

Read the citation for the actual deadline

The paperwork you were served states when a response is due. Confirm it precisely rather than assuming, since deadlines vary by court and circumstance.

Do not contact the other side directly

Anything you say to the plaintiff or their attorney can be used in the case. This includes an instinct to "just explain" what actually happened. That explanation belongs in a formal response, not an informal phone call.

Preserve everything relevant now

Emails, contracts, texts, photographs, anything connected to the claim. Once litigation has started, routine deletion of related records, even accidental, can create serious problems separate from the underlying dispute.

A claim is not self-proving

The plaintiff still has to establish liability, causation, and the actual value of whatever they claim to have lost. Being named in a lawsuit means someone is making an argument, not that the argument is correct. What matters now is building a response before positions on both sides harden.

Default judgment is a real and serious risk

If no timely response is filed, the plaintiff can generally obtain a default judgment without any hearing on the actual merits of the case. Reopening a default judgment afterward is possible in some circumstances but is considerably harder than responding on time in the first place.

Check whether insurance might cover the defense

Depending on what the lawsuit alleges, a homeowner's, auto, business liability, or professional policy may cover both the cost of defense and any resulting judgment. This is worth checking immediately, since many policies also require prompt notice of a claim as a condition of coverage.

Not every claim in the petition is necessarily valid

A petition can include claims that do not hold up once tested, along with claims that do. Part of an early response is identifying which is which, rather than treating the entire filing as an accurate account that must be accepted at face value.

What a first conversation with an attorney actually covers

Confirming the actual response deadline, identifying whether insurance might apply, and getting a first honest read on which claims in the petition are serious and which are not. That assessment usually takes less time than people expect once the paperwork is in front of someone who reads it regularly.

This article is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your situation. Deadlines and outcomes vary with the facts.