Being Sued for Breach of Contract

[unitedrobot]

My question involves court procedures for the state of: New Jersey

I'm being sued for essentially a breach of contract for a minor construction job done, me being the contractor. The contract was signed and the client told me he would make a copy and give me it asap. I never received a copy and just disregarded never getting it as I never had any problems with any clients. It was more of a safeguard for him. To this day I never received a copy of the contract but am now being sued in regards to that contract. I have a rough idea of what I wrote and signed but how would I go about getting a copy? I'm writing my answer to his complaint and it would be helpful to say the least.

My answer is due soon to the court, and will probably file it before I actually see the contract. How would I demand to get a copy before i send file my answer to court or during the discovery period post pre-trial?

Side note,
Did the client breach a verbal agreement with me to present a copy of the contract and could this be used against him?

Thanks ahead of time.

[ebonee]

theres always a first time for a bad client.sounds like this is it.usually a contract is signed before any work is done.what happen here?now your in kind of a pickle.what if the client says he never signed one?if he wont give it back,your out of luck.your going to have to guess what you promised the client.which was originaly on the contract.

[unitedrobot]

well the complaint filed against me says that the contract was breached because i didn't fulfill it as the job was apparently done poorly.

the dispute is not about whether there was or was not a contract. the client's complaint makes allegations that my end of the contract was not fulfilled

the contract was signed prior to work but the client never gave me a copy even after he said he would.

the question is, as this was the sole written contract how can i legally demand a copy of it before the pre-trial for myself to see again?