Midland Funding LLC

I am going to refer this to skydvr, he is well versed in this type of situation, so hang in there and keep checking back for more replies.

hiya,

Sorry it took so long...

OK, Midland likes to play dirty. They dont like to follow the law. So, at this point, the best thing you can do to start with is to call the court clerk's office where they filed the case. You want to look at the full docket so far-you want to see when they filed the complaint and what it says about the service of the summons. Many times, a junk debt buyer like Midland will try to have you served at an old address on purpose. The reason for this is because they want to get through the court case as fast as they can, and if they tell the court that they have had you served, then they will push for a default judgment when you dont show up. Often times, they will serve at an old address knowing that it is an old address. Here's what I would look for--if the court docket shows that the summons was served, then you want to see the details of it. Because their attorney sent you a letter, you know for certain that they have your current address, so if they had the summons served somewhere else, you can use that to show the court that they tried to pull some funny business.

Some other points for you too--where did they file the case? By law, they can only sue you in one of two places--either the county and state where you currently reside, or the county and state where the debt originated. If they are suing you in a county you do not live in, then when we put together your answer, we will list the affirmative defense of 'improper venue'. Also, what state do you live in? Each state has its own laws regarding court cases, so it is important to know what yours are.

About the validation letter, I would not send one at this time. Once they file suit, the validation letter is useless. They will not answer it, and they are not required to, because the lawsuit has already been filed at that point. You still need to make them prove their case--but since this is in court, you will need to do it through the court. But that's a step ahead of where we are right now, so I will get into that later. For now, if you could let me know the state you live in, I will get to work checking your state laws and we will put this all together for you.

Skydvr, that response was amazing!! I have been reading through this site for a few weeks now and I can see that there sure are some experts such as yourself that can really, truly help. I am going to put up a new post with my dilemma and perhaps you can comment there as well.

To the OP, best of luck on your fight with Midland, I have an issue with them now as well although no lawsuit filed quite yet that I know of. Make sure you keep checking your thread and provide the information to people here that can help you!