I have received an ordre to attend a pretrial conference. Can somebody tell me what happens in these conferences and who all will be there? Will it be a public thing or what?

The legal definition is: "A meeting of the parties to an action and their attorneys held before the court prior to the commencement of actual courtroom proceedings."

For more info, see the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Pretrial Conference. You will get a chance to come to a settlement agreement/payment arrangement which can be good if it is your debt and you are just low on funds. It gives you a shot at not getting a judgment against you (you want to avoid a judgment if at all possible).

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It's on a 1200 dollar account and the lawyer for the company with the suit is about 3 hours away from me and where the hearing is going to be. Will the lawyer even show up? What do I do if he doesn't show up?

Oh believe me, he'll show up! They're likely hoping that *you* don't show up! (If they don't show up, then you'll win by default, same thing the other way around - if you don't show up, they win.)

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I received a settlement offer from them today...saying for 40% they will dismiss with prejudice and mark the account settled in full. dont really like the 40% but if I could get it lower would the dismiss with prejudice and settled in full close out the account and never have to worry about it ever?

Which collection agency / law firm is suing you and what state are you in?

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frederick hanna...GA

Wow, they are one of the worst in the country...
"http://budhibbs.com/collectorpages/hanna_frederick_j_assoc.htm"

You *need* to have an attorney with you on this one. If you can't afford one, inquire with the court about Legal Aid or go to the National Association of Consumer Advocates for an attorney referral. You can also check your county civil court website.

As far as a settlement goes, just make sure you get the arrangement in writing before you pay one dime. And when you get a settlement arrangement you are happy with, after you pay it make sure you get a Paid letter, then you should be alright... (SAVE those papers!)

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Just got my copy of the letter Hanna sent the judge requesting to be taken off the calendar for the pre-trial conference and removed from any upcoming trial calendars as they are still in the process of discovery. Guess that goes back to the motion for discovery I sent them and they said they would have to send me a copy of the information I requested if and when it was available.

So, did you settle with them, or did they request to be taken off the calendar for the pre-trial conference because they could not provide what you asked for in discovery?

haven't done anything towards a settlement yet. just guessing they didnt want to go to conference cause they don't have any documentation to back their claim since they couldn't send me anything when I sent them the motion for discovery.

I recently had to go to a case management meeting, where the plaintiff's attorney showed up empty-handed, and we both informed the judge that we hadn't had a chance to discuss the matter yet (even though they had six months to send the validation I requested, but failed to do so.) I actually sent the plaintiff a request for discovery and a set of interrogatories two months ago via certified mail, to which they have yet to respond. In fact, since I filed my answer 4 months ago, I have received nothing from plaintiff. Now there is a pre-trial conference set for 3 months for now, and the deadline for discovery is set for then. It's unbelievable that these CA's can just keep dragging you into court without any proof that you owe them anything. Has your case been dismissed, or do you know if they have a deadline for discovery? Best of luck.

sjd: When you go to the conference I am betting they still won't have anything, or bogus affidavits. Firstly make sure you object to the affidavits as hearsay. After all is said and done, if they still can't produce anything, you should file a motion to dismiss based on lack of evidence...they have had more then enough time to come up with it and quite frankly they should have been ready before they even sued you. Press the issue and try to get it dismissed WITH prejudice!

Just received in the mail today a copy of a voluntary dismissal without prejudice from the plaintiff on my lawsuit. Guess they couldnt find the information I requested in my request for production of documents..Wonder how long it will be before they try again?

FWIW...In the state of Ohio...a debt can only be voluntarily dismissed, TWICE! If they sell it to someone else and THEY voluntarily have it dismissed...there is NO WAY they can legally sell it to someone else to try to collect on.

Check your laws, if ya want. They may be similar, or the same.