Citi Prelitigation Dept.

Once their legal department gets your file, there is a process they go through, the same as with any other legal case. The first thing that happens is they read the file and determine whether, under the law, they can file a suit. Federal law states that anyone filing suit in any matter must have due cause, meaning there has to be a reason for a suit, legally and factually. If the law and the facts put together say they have a reason, then the legal department will look for the proper court to file the action and start to draft the complaint. A complaint is a document that tells the court why Citi feels they need to go to court. The proper court in the United States for a collection action would be your local state district court because collection actions fall under state law and unless you signed an agreement stating that Citi could file in another location, Federal law says the court closest to where you live is the proper place to sue.
Once the complaint is drafted, which will probably take about 2 days from the day they decide to sue, someone in Citi's legal department will file the complaint and all the necessary copies with the proper court. Next they will arrange for you to be served with a copy of the complaint and a summons to appear in court (it will tell you which court to go to). Make sure that if you receive a summons and a complaint you respond to it as soon as you can. If you can not afford a private attorney, then many local courts have help desks, and most areas have free or low cost legal aid available.

You can certainly look into bankruptcy if you want. Bankruptcy is difficult and almost impossible with out a lawyer, and if you file after the collection action by Citi has already started, the chances of Citi's action being stopped are slim to none. The best I would suggest is to contact one of your local bar associations and see if you can find a lawyer who specializes in both collection actions and bankruptcy. Some lawyers do give free initial consultations. I hope this helps.

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Bankruptcy stays are not available for everything. For instance, once a foreclosure action has been filed, bankruptcy will not stop the foreclosure

We are not discussing foreclosure....we are talking an unsecured credit card.

From my understanding, bankruptcy will stay a foreclosure at least temporarily. Chapter 13 can stop foreclosure if filed before the sale date. Try googling bankrucpty and foreclosure....you will find a link to nolo law.


Must be a Belford graduate.....

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"In addition, some types of debts may not be discharged if the creditor convinces the judge that they should survive your bankruptcy."
"What the Automatic Stay Cannot PreventIn a few instances, the automatic stay won't help you.

• Certain tax proceedings. The IRS can still audit you, issue a tax deficiency notice, demand a tax return (which often leads to an audit), issue a tax assessment, or demand payment of such an assessment. However, the automatic stay does stop the IRS from issuing a tax lien or seizing your property or income.
  
• Support actions. A lawsuit against you seeking to establish paternity or to establish, modify, or collect child support or alimony isn't stopped by your filing for bankruptcy.
  
• Criminal proceedings. A criminal proceeding that can be broken down into criminal and debt components will be divided, and the criminal component won't be stopped by the automatic stay. For example, if you were convicted of writing a bad check, sentenced to community service, and ordered to pay a fine, your obligation to do community service won't be stopped by your filing for bankruptcy.
  
• Loans from a pension. Despite the automatic stay, money can be withheld from your income to repay a loan from certain types of pensions (including most job-related pensions and IRAs).
  
• Multiple filings. If you had a bankruptcy case pending during the previous year, then the stay will automatically terminate after 30 days unless you, the trustee, the U.S. Trustee, or a creditor asks for the stay to continue and proves that the current case was filed in good faith. If a creditor had a motion to lift the stay pending during the previous case, the court will presume that you acted in bad faith, and you'll have to overcome this presumption to get the protection of the stay in your current case.
  

[QUOTE]Foreclosure notice already filed. Unfortunately, bankruptcy's automatic stay won't stop the clock on the advance notice that most states require before a foreclosure sale can be held (or a motion to lift the stay can be filed). For example, before selling a home in California , a lender has to give the owner at least three months' notice. If you receive a three-month notice of default, and then file for bankruptcy after two months have passed, the three-month period would elapse after you'd been in bankruptcy for only one month. At that time the lender could file a motion to lift the stay and ask the court for permission to schedule the foreclosure sale. [/QUOTE]

also from nolo law

Thank you for your comments. Soaplady, we will consult an attorney

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