summons I never received..how to proceed?
Date: Thu, 08/14/2008 - 17:04
I live in Minnesota.
Today I received a letter from a law firm representing a credit card, the letter is a request for a hearing for them to be awarded attorneys fees. Apparently they served a summons and since I never responded it says I defaulted and they won the action against me. I never received the original summons. I haven't lived at the address they have for over a year. However I do still own the address and am renting the property but the renters said that nothing was ever delivered there.
I don't know what to do at this point. How do I prove that I never received the summons? Is the burden of proof on them or me? I am JUST starting a new job, literally 2 days ago and do not want them to get a garnishment on this.
I cannot afford a lawyer, everyone of them I have called wants a minimum of $1000. If I had that kind of money I would just pay it towards the debt, not incur any new debt.
I would like to contact this lawyer about this new letter but don't know what to say or what I should ask for.
The letter states that if I do respond they are going to ask to be rewarded more money that this letter is asking for, which of course makes me think I should not respond. Advice would be very appreciated.
Today I received a letter from a law firm representing a credit card, the letter is a request for a hearing for them to be awarded attorneys fees. Apparently they served a summons and since I never responded it says I defaulted and they won the action against me. I never received the original summons. I haven't lived at the address they have for over a year. However I do still own the address and am renting the property but the renters said that nothing was ever delivered there.
I don't know what to do at this point. How do I prove that I never received the summons? Is the burden of proof on them or me? I am JUST starting a new job, literally 2 days ago and do not want them to get a garnishment on this.
I cannot afford a lawyer, everyone of them I have called wants a minimum of $1000. If I had that kind of money I would just pay it towards the debt, not incur any new debt.
I would like to contact this lawyer about this new letter but don't know what to say or what I should ask for.
The letter states that if I do respond they are going to ask to be rewarded more money that this letter is asking for, which of course makes me think I should not respond. Advice would be very appreciated.
Go look at your local civil court website and look up your case.
Go look at your local civil court website and look up your case. If what they are saying is true there should be a docket on it, and the docket will tell you when and where they attempted to serve you.
Also start researching the rules of civil procedure and find out
Also start researching the rules of civil procedure and find out the time limit you have to have the judgement vacated due to improper service. In most jurisdictions it is 1 year from date the judgement was awarded. Pay special attention to method of service when you get a copy of the file. I'll look up proper service in MN and post when I find it.
