S&C

Law & Legal abbreviation · Litigation

S&C stands for Summons and complaint, a litigation abbreviation.

The initial papers that start a civil lawsuit: the summons notifies the defendant that it has been sued and must respond by a deadline, and the complaint states the claims and the relief sought. Both must be served on each defendant.

Example: The process server delivered the S&C to the company's registered agent on March 3.

Usage notes

Federal Rule 4 governs the summons and its service, and a defendant generally has 21 days to respond. The shorthand is especially common in New York, where a case can also begin with a summons with notice instead of a full complaint. Ignoring properly served papers can lead to a default judgment.

Related abbreviations

More litigation abbreviations

• PTC – Pretrial conference
• R&R – Report and recommendation
• Resp't – Respondent
• RFA – Request for admission
• RFP – Request for production
• ROG – Interrogatory
• SIAC – Singapore International Arbitration Centre
• SJ – Summary judgment
• SLAPP – Strategic lawsuit against public participation
• SMJ – Subject-matter jurisdiction
• SOL – Statute of limitations
• TAR – Technology-assisted review

See all 71 litigation abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not legal advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.