notice to appear
notice to appear. A summons or writ by which a person is cited to appear in court. • This is an informal phrase sometimes used to refer to the summons or other initial process by which a person is notified of a lawsuit. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require the summons to state that the defendant must appear and defend within a given time and that failure to do so will result in a default judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(a). See PROCESS; SUMMONS; DEFAULT JUDGMENT ; NOTICE TO PLEAD.