JDB has not responded to discovery...

You seem to be on track with this, just keep on it and don't let them win. It sounds like they don't have a case and are still trying to figure out how to handle the situation since you obviously know what you are doing.

File that motion to Compel on day 31! Don't give them any more wiggle room than you have too. Heck, I would also file a motion to dismiss for failure to substantiate their claims....WITH PREJUDICE...why should they get a chance to re-sue you when they were not ready the first time?

Well I now have a hearing date set for the 8th of Feb. I couldn't find a good template for a motion to compel in a JDB but I think I did ok "winging it" on my own. I sighted under civil rules of the court what I had asked for in discovery (interrogs,prod of docs, and request for admissions) and also sighted the rule in which compelling discovery is covered. I sighted when I sent them the discovery. I also noted that I had tried to make contact with them to try to resolve it out of court without success.

So I might be open to some advice from the community on here about the actual court date. First of all I am a bit leery that they may end up trying to change the date. I checked some files for some upcoming cases in which JDB's were on the court docket, just wanted to get any insight I could that could be relevant to help me in my case and give me a preview of what was to transpire in the court hearing (I plan to attend to observe) and found that the lawyers representing the JDB in two cases for another junk debt buyer (Asset Acceptance) have two cases set for a week after my hearing date. I have a feeling they will try to get the hearing moved to that date since they are about 100 miles away. I am not sure if there is anything I can do if they do, I really don't want to make it easy for them, I am considering rejecting that date if it is set and set it for another date. I am not sure how long they can go on requesting other court dates.

I am really hoping they just drop the whole thing, I mean they have had a month and haven't produced anything, they have produced nothing but the complaint, not even an affidavit or anything other than a few lines on the complaint saying that I owe them. I was thinking that they might just dismiss it if they feel like an extra 10 days or whatever the judge gives them won't be enough, I sure am hoping for that.

How long can I expect the judge to give them to respond? If the court date is delayed until the 15th or later would that affect the judges decision in perhaps giving them less time, as that would make it over 45 days since discovery was sent. I am going to ask for 7 days and won't stand for anything over 14 days, I am tired of worrying about this crap, I mean it seems like the writing is on the wall, that they don't have much to back their claim, but man it still is little solace when the case is still sitting there..

Any insight on what I need to make sure to do at the hearing would help greatly, I have attended court to observe on a couple occasion but haven't been able to on a day when a JDB buyer was there. From what I have observed the judge just reads the motion and goes from there, I think I have spelled everything out on the motion itself but again would be open to any tips.

If they happened to not respond in the time the court gave them, what would I do then, I suppose a motion to dismiss would be timely here but I don't know.

What if the lawyer doesn't show up and doesn't request another hearing, this is probably unlikely but I would like to know what to do just in case, could I get it dismissed right there and then.

Well, at this point, one of three things usually happens.

1--they can show up and ask for a continuance--more time to produce discovery.
2--they can show up and dismiss their own case--they would try to do this without prejudice.
3--they can blow off the court date completely and not show up.

Your basic options at this point are:

1--if they ask for a continuance, you could try to argue against it but you will likely not be successful. It is not uncommon these days for the plaintiff to not be ready to prove their case, and since they have not delayed the case before now, the court would probably give them the extra time. You already filed the motion to compel, so there isnt much else to do until the court date.

2--if they show up and try to dismiss, request that the dismissal be with prejudice. They filed a lawsuit against you without having one shred of evidence. There is a term for this in legal circles--it is called "filing a frivolous lawsuit". It is heavily frowned upon. I would request that the court order the dismissal with prejudice so that the plaintiff would not be allowed the opportunity to file another frivolous lawsuit against you in the future. As it is now, they have wasted your time and the court's time with this. You could argue that if the court allows a dismissal without prejudice, it would only open the door for the plaintiff to file again and waste more of your and the court's time.

3--if they dont show up at all, then the court will normally dismiss their case. This seems to typically be done without prejudice. If it is, I would then request that the court dismiss with prejudice, as stated in #2 above.

Thank you very much for the analysis there skydiver.

I actually read an account of a case on another board won by an individual who fought a JDB that really gives me cause for encouragement. I can tell that the JDB in that case used the same lawyers that are suing me because the discovery they sent this person was exactly what they sent me and this person was in the same state as me. It was a different debt buyer but the same lawyer.

In this case i read about they actually produced discovery but the person posting the story said they sent back anwsers that were totally evasive, typical of one of these cases. The person went ahead and filed, not for a motion to dismiss, but for a motion for summary judgement. The lawyers in between this time sent a request to the person through the mail to dismiss without prejudice. This individual was not having it. After the case was continued once, the person did successfully get a MSJ on the next date but that was after the lawyer had requested dismissal without prejudice.

I am intending to take them to the mat on the dismissal if it is forthcoming, and ask that it be with prejudice. But I was mulling around whether I should move for a MSJ or dismissal with prejudice.

I am also mindful that if I am successful in getting this dismissed, even with pred, that it can still be sold to some other JDB. I wanted to get the insight of if an idea I had was a good one. It seems like I remember reading that filinf a lawsuit in a debt case without any evidence to back it up is a violation of the FSCPA, I very well may be mistaken there though. My idea was to, at the hearing, to communicate that I was considering whether or not to file a suit on those grounds on the JDB. I was thinking I might be able to get an agreement with the JDB that they will not sell the debt to anyone else if I agree not to sue them. I know the lawyers probably won't be able to do that on the spot without consulting with their client but I just wanted to see if that was even legal/ok to do. I know that you shouldn't try to gain leverage through threatening to file a lawsuit that you are not intending to carry on with, but if I had the right to sue then perhaps it might be ok to bring this to the fore so I might have a chance to never have to deal with another lawsuit on this debt.

I have done everything to this point on my own and with the help of the boards I have done it all satisfactory to this point, I just don't want to get too aggresive and shoot myself in the foot. If I can get a dismissal with prejudice I will be very happy, worse thing that can happen is someone else will sue me and I will have to do it all again.

Again thanks for the further insight

I am currently going thru the same thing. The debt buyer didnt respond to my discovery and I guess I will send a motion to compel. But tell me what happened during your hearing?