Lawsuit - Jurisdiction Question
Date: Mon, 06/11/2007 - 18:15
So, should I ignore this action? Why bother "poking the hornet's nest" by contacting this attorney, just to tell him that he has no standing?? The debt was charged off by the creditor some time back and I'm still figuring out what to do with it. Obviously, going to court is not on top of my list of options.
Thanks for any advice.
THE FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
§ 811. Legal actions by debt collectors [15 USC 1692i]
(a) Any debt collector who brings any legal action on a debt against any consumer shall --
(1) in the case of an action to enforce an interest in real property securing the consumer's obligation, bring such action only in a judicial district or similar legal entity in which such real property is located; or
(2) in the case of an action not described in paragraph (1), bring such action only in the judicial district or similar legal entity --
(A) in which such consumer signed the contract sued upon; or
(B) in which such consumer resides at the commencement of the action.
(b) Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize the bringing of legal actions by debt collectors.
I would send a letter to the court and the attorney stating that
I would send a letter to the court and the attorney stating that this court has no jurisdiction over you. Add waht you wrote in your post as well. If a judgment is granted, the collector/attorney will have the added costs of having it transfered to your state. If this happened, I would file a motion to have it vacated due to improper jurisdiction.
This has been known to happen. A couple of years ago I read about some county court in Tennessee which thought it had jurisdiction over a Belgian man (who was living in Belgium).
Just to be on the safe side, I would get legal advice from an at
Just to be on the safe side, I would get legal advice from an attorney in the state where the suit was filed.
Being served by a family member in a different state is not proper service. (at least not in TX) This would make any judgment subject to attack on constitutional grounds. Furthermore, the one case of which I am aware defines judicial district as the County in which you live. What you have here is a fdcpa violation.
You may be able to make this go away by having a lawyer send a letter outlining your claims against the collection attorney.
That is very good advice from texaslawyer. I knew someone who w
That is very good advice from texaslawyer. I knew someone who was being sued in another state's county court. He was not a resident of that state nor did business there. He hired a lawyer in the other state and it was settled, never going to trial.