Help with answer to complaint

Tiff,if you want to do this yourself,the first place you need to look at the rules of civil procedure for your state. Do a google web search and it should point you to the code. Study it and decide if you want to go alone or hire attorney.

I've looked and it's pretty confusing for someone who has no experience with this. The only thing that I did determine was that the plaintiff can request the complaint be dismissed before the 20 days is up.

I have been pouring over legal advice websites and such, and am running out of time. I guess I will just have to try and scrape something together.

Okay, an update on this.... I answered the complaint with the help of an online legal advice line, answered the interrogatories and responded to the request by the plaintiff's counsel for summary judgment by asking the judge for a few mins. of the court's time to discuss this matter further. I was given a court date of 10/18.

I have been told that I need to take a hardship letter and a work up a budget for myself in writing to show what I have coming in and going out. I was also told that I can ask the judge to be able to make monthly payments of whatever I deem I can afford, or offer a settlement to satisfy the debt right then and there.

I am planning on offering to settle the debt for $500 less than the actual amount I owed the creditor before I stopped paying. Over $1,000 of the balance I am being sued for is just late, overlimit and interest charges, not actually the amount of credit I used. I was not over my credit limit when I started working with Hess Kennedy!

Anyway, just wondering if anyone foresees any problems or issues with this plan, or has any advice from personal experience. I have no idea what to expect, as I have never gone to court before. But, I feel that since I have responded to every single thing that the creditor's counsel has filed with the court, and the fact that I requested a court date shows that I am not trying to run away from the matter and that I am not taking the situation lightly.

I hope I am not setting myself up for a fall. I'm assuming that the worst that can happen is the summary judgment is granted and I am stuck with the full amount I'm being sued for as well as the court costs and creditor's attorney fees, which is what they asked for in the original complaint. I will either get my wages garnished for 15% of my salary, or they will let me do a payment plan at 8% interest per annum and will garnish if I don't follow through.

I'll be so glad to get this over with. I am still amazed that I am being sued for this debt, considering I owe a lot more to a couple of my other creditors and they haven't taken this action up to this point in time. I have been told that Citibank ALWAYS wants to sue and go to court, no matter how small or large the debt, that's they way the work!

Well your plan looks ok from my viewpoint.Be upfront with the judge and make the lawyer earn his money proving his case.

When you sign the agreement for a credit card you agree to pay interest, late fee's and over the limit fee's and a higher interest rate should you default.
With that being said I don't think you are going to get much luck with a 500 dollar settlement because by the time this thing finished off you are going to have court cost and attny fee's added onto it. If you have any hope of settleing for that amount you need to have it done before your court date.

Just bring all your documentation. It appears you have thought this out throughly and I do wish you the best of luck.

Best of luck Tiffany! I hope it all works out for you. I agree with FYI-you've thought it out quite a bit.

Who is sue-ing you?

I would file opposition papers that discovery is incomplete at this time. Then propound interrogatories upon them and file a notice to take deposition of Plaintiff by oral examination.

That's good advice hockeyman.

Hockyman or lawstudent, I am thinking that this may come up for me pretty quick with 2 of my cc's. So can you explain what that means? It sounds good in those terms, but...ummm...I don't understand what it is :oops:

You start getting people under oath and getting depositions (testimony) regarding the matter. This is all part of the discovery process in a civil suit. Generally, the discovery phase is 30 days after the filing. Hockeyman perhaps could better explain being that he is an licensed attorney (and if he'd just bother to join!) He seems to be on the east coast, I am from the west. Look at your state law regarding discovery and civil procedure.

FYI - I am not going to offer them $500 as settlement. I was advised to start out by offering them $500 less than I actually owe. I did try to rectify the situation months ago by working with a debt consolidation company who disbursed two monthly payments to the creditor. But right after they accepted the 2nd payment, the law firm they turned the account over to for collection (who is also presenting themselves as the creditor's counsel) filed the complaint for judgment against me. I am going to bring this to the judge's attention.

It is the creditor's responsibility to provide me with monthly statements, which they stopped doing almost a year ago. Yet, when their counsel filed against me, there was a statement of my account from Jan. 2007, which was never provided to me. I have not moved since I originally opened the account.

When I was originally contacted in writing by the collection law firm, I sent a debt validation request. They validated the debt by sending me a photocopy of the same January 2007 statement that they sent with the complaint filing. Yet, a few months down the line when they filed the request for summary judgment, they provided to the court with their filing, a copy of the original document that I signed when the account was opened. When I requested validation, I would have thought this should have been provided to me then?

In any case, whatever happens will happen. I just want to get it over with and move on.

hockeyman is licensed attorney? Oh snap! That makes him one heck of a resource for knowledge. :)

I love when we have real legal advise here, if you use it, it makes me feel safe and empowered. Thank you.

Luke