Help--being sued...

I need to change my name on this forum...do not want my full name on here, but when I signed up it said to enter my full name...how can I change the displayed name
?

You should get a summons, it will give you like 20 days to respond. You will get a set of questions you will want to answer anything pertaining to the debt as "insufficient information to confirm or deny". Do not admit to anything. You also may get a set of interrogatories lost of questions, anything that does not pertain to the debt you object to. Also you may get an affidavit that says they have personal knowledge of said debt. Object to that as hearsay, you have the right to question this person on their so-called personal knowledge.

Your husband will be safe because even if you are in a community property state, your debts prior to the marriage are not his debts. HOWEVER if your name is on the bank account, that can be levied.

Your best bet would be to hire a lawyer, but I understand not having the money for it. If you can't find one to represent you, keep posting here and we will continue to help, we have many experienced people here to help you through this.

Keep tabs on this, if you have not gotten a summons, contact the courthouse to find out why.

As for your name, hold tight..I don't know how to do this but I will find out for ya! :)

About the name change, I saw this :)

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/pub/thread53705.html

hey great! Something I should know, thanks for pointing that out. :)

If you have trouble finding a lawyer because of money issues (and we all have them), you could try legal aid. Many cities have free or low cost legal aid groups available to help. You should be able to find out what services are available either online or at your local court house.

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I just got served! Glad to get that over with. I am going to tell you what all the paperwork says, but you've probably seen this sort of thing before.

The case number ######, claim for money ($5,000 or less). The file number is #####. The summons states that I must appear in court Date, @ time or must file a written answer and provide a copy to the plaintiff or attorney on or before that date.

Plaintiff's Demand: 1. Judgement for claim for money: $$$$$$ amount
2. Brief statement of dates and facts: See attached for additional info.
Verification: under oath, ....etc. I am attorney for plaintiff.

Dated (date a month ago). Attorney's state bar #####. Phone #####

Attached is a green slip that says:

Please note:

If you owe the money and would like to arrange to pay the debt, please call our office immediately. This MAY AVOID further legal action or possibly the necessity for you to appear in court. The toll-free ####. When calling, give our representative your (law firm here) file number. It can be found in the upper right portion of the court papers. Thank you for your cooperation.

(Law office name and address)

Also attached are two more white sheets...the first says :

Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC as assignee of Cavalry SPV I, LLC assignee of CitiBank
Address here
Plaintiff,
vs.
My name and address
Defendant

Filed in the court (date a week ago) stamped on it

Now comes the plaintiff by (law firm here), attorneys, and for a cause of action against the above named defendant, alleges and shows the court as follows:

1. That the addresses for the plaintiff and defendant are shown above.

2. That the defendant applied for a credit card with CitiBank and thereby entered into a contract, and that pursuant thereto the defendant were issued a credit card which is the subject of this action.

3. That the plaintiff is the current holder of said credit card account.

4. The defendant has/have defaulted by failing to make the payments due on said account.

5. That the obligation of the defendant to the plaintiff is a marital obligation in that the goods and services purchased through the use of the credit card and any monies obtained were used in the interest of the marriage or the family of the defendant.

6. This is an attempt to collect a debt and all information obtained will be used for that purpose.

(end of first page)

------------------------------------

(2nd page)

7. That the balance due from the defendant to the plaintiff is calculated below:
Account number **********
Principal balance: Purchases and/or cash advances, plus, if applicable, interest and other fees less payments received through date in 2007 $$$$$$
Plus: Accrued Interest: Interest on Principal Balance from date in 2007 through date a month ago at 5.00% $$$$$
Less: Payments: Payments received from Oct. 2009 through date a month ago, 2010 $0
Total due: Balance due as of date a month ago $$$$$$

AS AND FOR A SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION, plaintiff alleges and shows to the court as follows:

8. Realleges and incorporates as if fully set forth herein each of the allegations of the plaintiff's first cause of action.

9. That the buyer-defendant was provided with a statement of said account indicating the balance due thereon, and the buyer-defendant retained said statement without making objection thereto within a reasonable time and/or made a partial payment on said balance due.

10. That the defendant has failed to pay the amounts set forth on those statements and there is a balance due the plaintiff from the defendant in the sum of $$$$ and that, although the plaintiff has made demand upon said defendant for the payment of the aforesaid sum, the defendant has failed and neglected to pay same.

WHEREFORE, plaintiff demands judgment against the defendant for the sum of $$$$$, plus the costs and disbursements of this action.

Dated at City name, Wisconsin this date a month ago, 2010

Law Firm name
Attorneys in the Practice of Debt Collection
By: attorney name

Address of lawfirm...............Names of attorneys and state bar #s.........


-----------------------

The biggest question I have is...what does #5 mean? Marital obligation...? Family and marriage of defendant? Can anyone explain that in laymans terms? I AM married, but just got married last fall....Is that what they even mean? All of this is making my head spin!

Actually there are A LOT of good things on there for you to use against them! What state and county are you in and do you remember this debt, is the amount they claim roughly the amount you remember?

I will help ya out but PLEASE remember I am not a lawyer. :) Your best bet would be to retain council, but if your like the majority of people and simply can't afford it, we won't leave you hanging.

I need your state because I am going to go research your state/county rules of civil procedure to help formulate a response and to prepare to receive your discovery/interrogatories and for you to send out same.

Oh the marriage thing is because they are likely going to try and tack your husband in on this...which I think is amusing since you stated you only recently married...would love to know how you used this credit card for the good of your marriage when you were in fact single.

[QUOTE=goldenbast;684712]Actually there are A LOT of good things on there for you to use against them! What state and county are you in and do you remember this debt, is the amount they claim roughly the amount you remember?

I will help ya out but PLEASE remember I am not a lawyer. :) Your best bet would be to retain council, but if your like the majority of people and simply can't afford it, we won't leave you hanging.

I need your state because I am going to go research your state/county rules of civil procedure to help formulate a response and to prepare to receive your discovery/interrogatories and for you to send out same.[/QUOTE]

Glad to hear they did something wrong (what was it? :)) I live in Wisconsin, in Dodge county.

The debt amount sounds like it could be right...I cut up all my cards (except the debit ones) years ago and don't have any of the statements anymore. Went through a really rough patch (heck, I'm still pulling myself out of it) and decided that credit cards weren't helping things.

Thanks...you're a lifesaver!:p

Ok I am curious about this:

9. That the buyer-defendant was provided with a statement of said account indicating the balance due thereon, and the buyer-defendant retained said statement without making objection thereto within a reasonable time and/or made a partial payment on said balance due.

Is this suit the first you are hearing from this particular CA? Did you ever DV them, did they ever provide you with a statement or is this just them trying to say you got statements and just ignored them. :):P

As for things you can use against them, well #5 for one, you can ask for these statement in discovery and they would have a hard time objecting since they used them in their allegations. :) Basically, they say you used the card to purchase goods for your marriage? Good..you want to see them. :) Then to blow them away with the fact you were not married at the time they allege you had this card. :)

#7 again they claim they are able to assess these fees and interest, so obviously they must have a signed agreement/contract with which they based these calculations on so naturally you will want to see it. :):P

#9 again, you would like to see this alleged statement and you definitely want to see this payment they allude too.

#10 depends on if they have ever contacted you prior to this suit.

I will go look up the rules of civil procedure and check to see if your state has licensing requirements for collectors tonight and tomorrow (i am getting tired LOL)

Quote:

100 a week? are you making payments on this account?

For your own research:

Wisconsin rules of civil procedure: http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&d=stats&jd=ch.%20801

Wisconsin rules of evidence: http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&d=stats&jd=ch.%20901

Still researching :)

[QUOTE=goldenbast;684740]Ok I am curious about this:

9. That the buyer-defendant was provided with a statement of said account indicating the balance due thereon, and the buyer-defendant retained said statement without making objection thereto within a reasonable time and/or made a partial payment on said balance due.

Is this suit the first you are hearing from this particular CA? Did you ever DV them, did they ever provide you with a statement or is this just them trying to say you got statements and just ignored them. :):P

As for things you can use against them, well #5 for one, you can ask for these statement in discovery and they would have a hard time objecting since they used them in their allegations. :) Basically, they say you used the card to purchase goods for your marriage? Good..you want to see them. :) Then to blow them away with the fact you were not married at the time they allege you had this card. :)

#7 again they claim they are able to assess these fees and interest, so obviously they must have a signed agreement/contract with which they based these calculations on so naturally you will want to see it. :):P

#9 again, you would like to see this alleged statement and you definitely want to see this payment they allude too.

#10 depends on if they have ever contacted you prior to this suit.

I will go look up the rules of civil procedure and check to see if your state has licensing requirements for collectors tonight and tomorrow (i am getting tired LOL)[/QUOTE]


Well, I honestly don't remember getting anything from them before I started receiving letters from their lawfirm. Then again we have moved 6 times since 2006 (looong story) including across the country a couple of times (not due to the debt, but due to other circumstances). I guess I had the bad habit of tossing out mail that I didn't recognize the return address of, because I thought it was junk mail or offers for more credit cards (they are still sending them!) So, perhaps they DID send me something and I never read it. I am better about that now:cool:

I have never sent them a DV because until a couple of days ago I had no idea what a DV was, and well now it's a little late.;) I was the average debtor, uneducated about the debt I owed and what I could do about it.

I like what you say about #5...it's crazy that they would even put that in there...sort of an easy way of shooting themselves in the foot I think...but I love that!:lol:

#7 is about the only semi-clear part of the entire complaint to me :p And #8...isn't that just them repeating themselves? Don't see what that's all about. #9...I KNOW I have never paid Cavalry a dime so that is just plain silly :-)

#10...like I said, I don't believe I've received anything from them, but I can't say that I'm 100% certain...I AM sure I have never spoken to them or sent them any kind of correspondence.

Thanks for your help! I have been losing a lot of sleep over this myself...I'm waiting to hear back from an attorney that was on the NACA listing.

Thanks again...and again....

Quote:

hiya--

dont lose sleep over this one.....there are a TON of great people here that are willing to use their experiences to help you out.

Case in point, I am right now helping three different people here through various stages of this exact same thing, one of them is even being sued by the same debt collector as you. There are plenty of things that can be done to put these guys where they belong. Just as golden said, I am also not an attorney, but I also can say I have never seen any of our core members here giving out bad advice or causing someone to lose a case. Maybe we should open up our own law firm haha

Did they provide anything else with this summons, or is that all so far? I'm waiting for the affidavit garbage trick to show up....maybe they will pull that one out in court....

EDIT--dont worry about your husband on ths one either...they are grasping here, and it's really obvious. Even though Wisconsin is a community property state, it's an easy thing to disprove their claim on this one. But in order to do so, you will need to get them to tell you/the court when the account supposedly went into default. Then, all you would need to do is provide to the court your marriage license, which would prove that you were not married at the time this alleged account existed, and therefore, their claim is simply false. Like I said, dont lose sleep over this one, there are plenty of resources to help you here.

Hey Sky I'm working on that LOL! Just....7 more years then I can open my own practice and debt collectors everywhere can tremble in fear! ROAR! heh.

Ok Aon...I just wanted to make sure I knew what was going on with the account so I don't sound like a mook and suggest something wrong. :)

Don't worry about your husband. Even if you were in a community property state, this debt was prior to the marriage so he is untouchable.

Quote:

Quote:

Working Answer:

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF Wisconsin
FOR THE COUNTY OF Dodge

Case No._____________________

Cavalry Portfolio Services
Plaintiff

Vs.

FIRST AMENDED ANSWERS, DEFENSES AND COUNTERCLAIMS


Defendant(s)

Defendant, appearing pro se, for its reply to the Complaint of Cavalry Portfolio Services (hereafter "Calvary") states as follows: All Answers correspond to the numbered paragraphs of the Complaint. All allegations of the Complaint are denied unless expressly admitted herein.
1. In response to paragraph #1, the Defendant agrees.

2. In response to paragraph #2, Complaint states legal conclusions to which no response is necessary. However, to the extent that the Court may deem a response to be necessary, defendant denies the allegation and demands strict proof thereof.

3. In response to paragraph #3, the Defendant disputes the alleged debt, as solicited in paragraph #3 of the complaint.

4. In response to paragraph #4, to the extent a response is required, defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof.

5. In response to paragraph #5, the Defendant denies the allegation in its entirety.

6. In response to paragraph #6, the Defendant agrees.

7. In response to paragraph #7, to the extent a response is required, defendant is at this time without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein and on that basis generally and specifically denies the allegation contained therein and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof.

8. In response to paragraph #8, the Defendant denies any and all such allegations and demands strict proof thereof.

9. In response to paragraph #9, Complaint states legal conclusions to which no response is necessary. However, to the extent that the Court may deem a response to be necessary, defendant denies the allegation and demands strict proof thereof.

10. In response to paragraph #10, the Defendant denies said allegations in its entirety.

DEFENSES
11. As and for a First Defense
Plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiff's Complaint and each cause of action therein fails to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the Defendant for which relief can be granted.

12. As and for a Second Defense
Plaintiff admits to purchasing the defaulted debt allegedly owed by the Defendant, causing Plaintiff's injury to its own self, therefore Plaintiff is barred from seeking relief for damages.

13. As and for a Third Defense
Plaintiff's Complaint violates the statute of Frauds as the purported contract or agreement falls within a class of contracts or agreements required to be in writing. The purported contract or agreement alleged in the Complaint is not in writing and signed by the Defendant or by some other person authorized by the Defendant and who was to answer for the alleged debt, default or miscarriage of another person.

14. As and for a Fourth Defense
The Plaintiff is not an Assignee for the purported agreement and no evidence appears in the record to support any related assumptions.

15. As and for a Fifth Defense
Plaintiff's alleged damages are limited to real or actual damages only.

16. As and for a Sixth Defense
Defendant reserves the right to amend

-----------------------------------

Hey Skydivr, what do you think of this so far?

To change your avatar:

Go to the panel to the right and click: Edit Profile (should be right under log out)

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Follow the directions there

There ya go!

That looks great to me.

I definately couldn't have come up with that myself :eek:

I am still waiting to hear back from the attorney I want to hire before I take any further action, but it's the weekend so I probably won't hear anything until Monday. I really like those answers and defenses though. :D

I am reading some of the info on those links you gave me, golden.

I could be wrong, but from what I understand, the summons should have contained the handwritten signature of the plaintiff's attorney, and where the line for the signatures are, for a notary public and then the lines for the attorney, there is just a typed name like this:

/s/Name of Notary Public

or

/s/Name of Attorney (with their names filled in of course)

Does that s mean it qualifies as hand-written somehow? Just thought maybe this was something I could use....

It's going to be a long weekend of waiting and researching....

Thanks again :p

Hmm that is a technicality you would need to ask a lawyer. Hopefully you will get to speak with the lawyer Monday and maybe they will represent you as that is the ideal defense. :)

But it would be great if you could get the entire suit thrown out on the technicality that the lawyer forgot to actually sign the documents. Heh. :)

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Well after you deal with this bottomfeeder, you can always stick around and start working on cleaning up your credit so you don't have to deal with this kind of mess again. :) There are plenty people here who are like experts on credit repair and plenty who have even taken the debt collectors to court and won, including myself.

Let me tell you, it is such a nice feeling to have a bottom feeding debt collector paying YOU for a change.:rolleyes:

Oh speaking of which, when/if this case gets thrown out...you will want to immediately slap them with a debt validation letter. Who knows, maybe you will be back in court with these jokers, with YOU as the plaintiff this time hehe.

Quote:

If they call simply tell them you are disputing the alleged debt in its entirety and intend to fight it all the way. Do not offer anything else and tell the lawyer that unless his client is interested in dismissing the case, you have nothing to discuss.

Asset Acceptance is a real piece of work who habitually violate the crud out of people's rights and walk all over them. I would wait until you ar done with the lawsuit so your focus is not split.....but one thing, if you have just recently started getting the letters, send them a debt validation letter as is your right.

Thanks for the advice golden. I think they should be getting my letter (with the phone number) pretty soon, if they haven't already...so I'll wait for my phone to ring. I guess after this battle is over, I'll do my best to take on A.A. and then the other one after that....I think I know what soldiers feel like before they go into battle...well...sort of.

I would be happy to help you take on AA. :)

Stay calm , call me i can help. You can speak to a lawyer and get the advice you need . PHONE NUMBER DELETED IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR TERMS OF SERVICE. NO SOLICITATIONS ARE ALLOWED ON THIS WEBSITE. THIS IS NOT A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN COME TO FISH FOR CUSTOMERS. IF YOU CANNOT FOLLOW OUR TERMS OF SERVICE, PLEASE DO NOT POST ON THIS FORUM. ANY ADDITIONAL POSTINGS OF YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND/OR SOLICITATIONS FOR BUSINESS WILL BE DELETED.
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Oh, and have a nice day!
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BTW, golden, thats a great answer right there. It might be a good time to verify when this court will require that she file a motion for discovery-request for production of documents....that way, if we need to do one up now we will be all set.