Illinois law,validation,signature needed?

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[QUOTE=Anonymous;663051]I've been pouring over the web & sites like this & came across this


"You are in Illinois. Without a written contract attached to the complaint, it is not valid. Look up Illinois supreme court rule 282."



Rule 282. Commencement of Action--Representation of Corporations
(a) Commencement of Actions. An action on a small claim may be commenced by paying to the clerk of the court the required filing fee and filing a short and simple complaint setting forth (1) plaintiff's name, residence address, and telephone number, (2) defendant's name and place of residence, or place of business or regular employment, and (3) the nature and amount of the plaintiff's claim, giving dates and other relevant information. If the claim is based upon a written instrument, a copy thereof or of so much of it as is relevant must be copied in or attached to the original and all copies of the complaint, unless the plaintiff attaches to the complaint an affidavit stating facts showing that the instrument is unavailable to him





OK,so does this mean,that if taken to court for a cc debt they must show where you signed a contract/signed up for the credit card?

what if the card was aquired online,electronic signature?[/QUOTE]

hang on, guys, not so fast....read that last line again. It states that they must have a copy of your signed agreement UNLESS they provide an affidavit stating that it is not available to them. So according to the letter of that law, any debt collector can sue you without a shred of proof, and state "the signed original contract is no longer available to us"....and youre right back at the beginning like anyone is in the other states.

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[QUOTE=DebtCruncher;663502]That law doesn't require a good reason; it just requires them to state the facts as to why they don't have it. ...... But remember the plaintiff still has to prove beyond a preponderance of the evidence. Without the actual contract, their burden of proof is much more difficult.
However, the law quoted appears to be specifically for small claims complaints. In IL, a corporate entity must be represented by an attorney*. For that reason, creditors here in IL don't sue in small claims courts, which pretty much makes that specific law irrelevant.
*Corporations do not need an attorney (they can file pro se) only if a bona fide officer of the corporation is the person who is representing the corporation in court. It is highly unlikely that the creditor's President or VP etc is personally going to go to court to sue you, and so the odds are that the creditor will have to hire an attorney. The only corporations you will see in small claims court are likely small businesses where the owner is personally suing someone.[/QUOTE]


Omg I feel so dumb,can you tell me what that means for me exactly? I'm so sorry,My head is spinning with all the info I've been reading for days on end.Ty so much for your help & time

[QUOTE=DebtCruncher;663502]That law doesn't require a good reason; it just requires them to state the facts as to why they don't have it. ...... But remember the plaintiff still has to prove beyond a preponderance of the evidence. Without the actual contract, their burden of proof is much more difficult.
However, the law quoted appears to be specifically for small claims complaints. In IL, a corporate entity must be represented by an attorney*. For that reason, creditors here in IL don't sue in small claims courts, which pretty much makes that specific law irrelevant.
*Corporations do not need an attorney (they can file pro se) only if a bona fide officer of the corporation is the person who is representing the corporation in court. It is highly unlikely that the creditor's President or VP etc is personally going to go to court to sue you, and so the odds are that the creditor will have to hire an attorney. The only corporations you will see in small claims court are likely small businesses where the owner is personally suing someone.[/QUOTE]


I should probably say the person contacting me is a law firm in my state. =/

No don't feel dumb at all - it's all a bunch of legal jargon anyways....

If you live in Cook County, you have on your side that the judges here are very liberal, debtor friendly, and tied in with the Daley/Stroger machine. IE big corporations from a different state that sue here in IL do not actually vote, and these judges need to keep their constituents happy in order to keep their job ....

(Personally, several months ago I filed a lawsuit against the town I live in over a parking ticket that was not issued in accordance with the law. $40 ticket, and rather than admit the cop didn't follow procedure, the town had 2 different attorneys fighting me in court. When it came in front of the judge, he actually put the court in recess so he could go in his chambers and read my complaint. When he came out, he told me it was well-written and asked me if I had anything to add. Then I did not have to say another word -- and for the next 30 mins, the judge and the village attorney were arguing back and forth, using all sorts of legal jargon. The judge really was defending me and acting like he was my own attorney. And then I won, and the town had to reimburse me for all of my court costs. In the end and between paying my court costs and their attorney fees, I'd say the town probably spent over $900 trying to get me to pay $40, and they lost.)

The moral of my story is that if you get sued, just show up in court and make the plaintiff prove that you owe the debt. Our courts here are not formal at all, and you don't have to worry about filing motions and discovery, etc. Just show up, and the judge really will take your side; and if the cc company cannot prove the debt, it will get thrown out.