Times running out, but another dumb question
Date: Tue, 01/06/2009 - 18:03
I guess I'm too dumb to figure this out myself. My Summons says "Associate Division Summons"
The Front page of the Petition states:
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ****** COUNTY
ASSOCIATE JUDGE DIVISION
STATE OF MISSOURI
I'm trying to figure out if this is the same as small claims. I did some research on Small Claims Courts in Missouri. It says"The small claims court is a division of the circuit court presided over by an associate circuit judge"
It also says, "Furthermore, an assignee of a claim (i.e., a person or business that purchases or otherwise has the right to a claim) may not file in small claims court"
If this is small claims, I'm thinking that since the petition says that the "plaintiff is the holder of a valid assignment of an account", I can have it dismissed because it's not the proper court.
I just can't for the life of me find out if it's small claims or not.
Many times I've seen small claims case #'s that look something l
Many times I've seen small claims case #'s that look something like 2008-SC-XXXXX.
Otherwise, I'd say call the court clerk and ask them which court it was filed in.
yes--call the court clerk and ask them, they should be able to t
yes--call the court clerk and ask them, they should be able to tell you with little trouble....And then, if it is in small claims, then you can use that as an "affirmative defense" when you answer the summons. You would at that point be requesting that the court dismiss the case due to improper venue, and you would then state the particular statute and say that this statute prohibits the plaintiff from filing this complaint in small claims court. that should be enough to get it booted, but more than likely it will only stop them right now, they will probably file suit in the appropriate court if you get it dismissed now. I only say that so you can be prepared.
But you DO want to get it booted from small claims court if possible--many small claims judges do not understand the federal laws concerning debt collection, and there have been more than enough cases where a small claims judge has completely ignored the fdcpa and ruled in plaintiff's favor despite their violation of the law. Small claims is NOT the preferred place to have a debt collection case.
First off, there are no dumb questions, OK? And there are no dum
First off, there are no dumb questions, OK? And there are no dumb people who post here--including you--and I'd say you're pretty smart to have found us.
I would also figure out if it's small claims by the amount you owe. I would still call the Courts to figure out what the limits are for small claims in your community. Good luck and let us know what happens!