what happens in a civil case

I am from Massachusetts. I am going for the trial against a debt collector soon for a debt that is not mine, they say it is but really have nothing to use against me. I just want to know what happens.

Do people take the stand? Can you object to what they are saying or is it more like judge judy where each side talks at one time?

They say they have an expert witness who knows about the books and records of everything. I know that her testimony is all hearsay. Do they have to notify me before the trial of who they are using?

I am building up my defense right now and I have some good things against them. I don't want to put too much on here just in case they are lurking around. I will just say they have said one thing before and are saying something different now. So they have already commitied perjury.

They have a pamphlet of a credit card statement that is not the original contract. It is for either a visa or mastercard and it is from one year after they say I opened the account. they consider that as evidence. What should I do about that?


So if anyone can give me tips on how to stop them cold would be appreciated.

anyone?

need help please.

Did you recieve a summons and complaint? Who is suing you? What else came with the complaint? Request for Admissions, Request for Production of Documents? An affadavit? You state that the debt is not yours. Is this a case of Identity theft or mis-identified consumer?

Also, start familiarizing yourself with you local Rules of Civil Procedure:

http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/civrules.html

Yeah I already got the summons and complaint. They said it was for breach of contract with Compucredit, I never had one. They do not have a signed contract so how does that stand up if they say I breached it?

The only thing provided with the complaint is a printout of a credit statement doesn't look real. It came from a different debt collector. They say they where assigned by compucredit when in fact they purchased it from a different company.

They also included a credit card agreement for visa or mastercard, it is just a copy of a pamphlet and has a copyright date 1 year after they say I opened the account.

I don't remember seeing an affidavit.


This is a case of the wrong person but they somehow have the last 4 of my social,,,how the hell did that happen?

bump

Here is a very good site with a lot of information on the civil court procedures:
"http://www.nedap.org/hotline/court.html"
Please be aware that it is for New York and may differ in certain details from your state, but generally it is very good.

Make sure you file a Motion for Discovery.

I hope you have an attorney who is willing to rip these liars to shreds. I wish you the best of luck and please update us on the situation.

Already went through discovery and everything. We are now going to trial. I don't have an attorney, doing this all myself.

I screwed up by not asking for a jury trial so now it is too late.

Even if I lose I win because I am on social security and they can't get a dime from me,lol. I will probably file bankruptcy if I lose cause I do have a lot of other debt that I owe. The attorney said they will mark it as disputed and not to worry. Heck I might do it the day before the trial,lol.

Is the pamphlet they photocopied, you can see the bends and stape marks, admissible evidence in court?

If you are going to defend yourself, write down your questions, ie... Ask the rep. or attorney thats their if they worked on your account the ENTIRE time, ask if they have first hand knowledge of your case, ask them if they validated the debt, ask them who validated the debt. Request that person be present. Ask them for proof of the purchased debt, proof they are legally allowed to collect in your state, ask proof they are a licensed business in their state. Get case law for the judge to reference, pertaining to your case. Think it out and write down your questions. I am not an attorney and this is in NO WAY LEGAL ADVICE!!!