Portfolio Recovery suing Us in MI

OK I posted the basics of court for another person and I will post them here too. But first Is it just you that is being sued? Your income is exempt from garnishment. Even if a debt collector has a judgment against you, they cannot take your money. Some people do not know any better and will make payment arrangements with a debt collector. DO NOT FALL FOR THAT!!!! Tell them you are on disability and your income is exempt. Do not let them touch it.

Now you said we? I take it you mean your spouse? Is that person being sued also and if yes are they on disability also?
You will need to make sure your disability money is put into a separate account that the debt collector cannot garnish.

You will most likely be receiving from their attorney request for production of documents, request for admissions and interrogatories. You will have to answer these but if they request personal information such as social security numbers or bank account numbers, past credit cards you had I would not provide such information as it is private information. You should give a good reason why you deny them the right to have it.

Also you will have to sign these but i recommend you only initial them. They can use your signature to forge your name on documents.

Now send these back certified mail return receipt requested. Also enclose a certificate of service saying who you sent it to, their attorney, when you sent it, how you sent it, what you sent and where you sent it to.

You will notice a odd format they use and you can follow that format on their requests for yourself. If you have a difficult time, you can go to a law library or contact an attorney for some assistance, they might show you for free.

After you answer their questions, now you want them to answer yours. You will send them a first request for production of documents. Ask for the following:

1. What the money you say I owe is for;

2. Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;

3. Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;

4. Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
5. Identify the original creditor;

6. Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account

7. Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state

8. Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent

9. Proof that the collection company owns the debt/or has
been assigned the debt. (You are legally entitled to collect this particular debt from me.) This is basic contract law.

10. Complete payment history, starting with the original creditor. (I need to have proof of my payment history with original Creditor, what the amount of the debt was when the creditor assigned the debt to your company, and what fees/interest has been tacked on to this debt and how you/they determined these fees.) This requirement was established by the case Fields v. Wilber Law Firm, Donald L. Wilber and Kenneth Wilber, USCA-02-C-0072, 7th Circuit Court, Sept 2004..

11. Copy of the original signed loan agreement or credit card application. (My contract with the original creditor establishing the debt between us.) This is also basic contract law.
___________________________________________________

You will send this the same way, certified mail return receipt requested. Also enclose the certificate of service. This is about all I can think of for now so I hope this helps. Also here as I promised is a basic idea of how a civil case works.
______________________________________________________

Almost every court in the United States run on the same Rules of civil procedure. California and New Hampshire are the only 2 that have different codes. Something I haven't looked into too much.

The way a lawsuit works is the defendant is first served with the summons. They usually have 20 days to answer that summons. The defendant will either confirm, deny or neither confirm nor deny the complaint. Also I am almost positive that if the defendant has a counterclaim, they need to state it in theie answer.

After the answer is served a case management hearing will be set up, usually 3 months after.

Now it is the discovery phase. This is where the Plaintiff serves Interrogatories, request for production of documents, request for admissions and also request for witnesses. It is also where the defendant can serve the Plaintiff with the same requests. If the defendant whats the plaintiff to prove their case, they will usually request production of documents.

After serving each party in the case, they each have a set time to respond. It is usually 30 days plus 3 days from the day they receive your request. If either party fails to respond, the next step is a motion to compel. Now you would go to the court house and file a motion to compel, the court order the party that failed to answer to serve the answer, usually within 15 days. At that point if they fail to provide an answer or a good reason to answer, If it is the defendant, they can motion to dismiss with prejudice. If it is the Plaintiff, they will get a default judgment against you.

If both parties get all the information they want, then they go to the case management hearing. This is to see that everyone has everything they need, documents, interrogatories, witnesses. Also at this point they try to work out an agreement. If an agreement cannot be made then the case goes to trial.

Almost all cases do not go to trial. Either the plaintiff will not have the evidence to prove his or her complaint or they will and then the defendant will enter a payment plan with the plaintiff. If neither party can come to an agreement and they want a jury to decide, it goes to trial.



This is just the basics of how court works. I am not an attorney, though I would like to be one. If I knew last year what I knew now I would have never gotten a judgment against me. I failed to answer when I was served cause I didn't know how and I lost.

I am now educating myself and I try to help others in the process. You can either use the knowledge I have provided, call an attorney or do your own research if you feel safer.

Hope this information helps you.

just curious, do they have to notifiy you when they take you to court.Also if they have a judgement against you what steps should you take.

just curious, do they have to notifiy you when they take you to court.Also if they have a judgement against you what steps should you take.