How do I get out of paying this? What precautions should I take for court?

Consult a consumer attorney immediately. Meanwhile, comply with all instructions on summons re filing appearance, filing answer, and court dates.

Thank you for your question and I am so sorry to hear of the issues you are having. In order to answer your question an attorney would have to speak with you further about your history and this instance. If accounts were opened in your name and without your consent you can file a police report and that would be something to bring to court. I would also report this to the credit agency's. I would strongly suggest that you speak with an attorney in your area. An attorney in your area that handles this type of matter can be found by using the Find a Lawyer function through the link above. Best of luck.

If it's an obvious mistake, you may want to contact the plaintiff and the plaintiff's attorney to show they are going after the wrong person. I'd like to think you could represent yourself in court, but it may require an attorney. Also, it sounds like there may be some identity theft going on so I would work on getting that fixed. If you can show you already took some steps, that may help persuade the judge in this case that the case should be dimissed.