Its been a year since we got served

Whoa! That's unbelievable, the nerve of those people. I'm not sure what to tell you so I will leave this for someone else with more knowledge to answer this one.

Thanks for reading my post. I will wait for someone else's suggestions.

So they haven't filed motions in over a year but the attorney is filing motion for default. Default judgment generally occurs when the defendant does not appear in court. I would suggest seeking legal council for this however to cover yourself. You can check naca.net for a consumer attorney in your area.

JC you are correct. We have not heard from them in over 10 months. That is why the Clerk of the Court sent us a Notice of Lack of Prosecution to let all parties know that since nothing has been filed in 10 months, they were going to dismiss the case. And now we get this "paperwork" from this "attorney" requesting a Motion for Judgement; Motion for Default-Final Judgement; Default Final Judgement and many other forms.
We are totally lost and confused.

By responding to the summons 10 months ago, you called out the lawyer to provide evidence he likely doesn't have, prevented him from getting a default judgement (which is what he was hopping for) and he backed off since he knew he could not win (if he had enough evidence to win, he would have filed a Notice to Set for a trial date so he could get the court to make you pay)

Now, 10 months later, he is trying again in the hope that maybe this time you won't answer or show up. By filling all these motions, he is hoping to scare you from showing up so that he can get the default judgement that you denied him last time.

Don't let that bottom-feeder of a lawyer get away with it. Make sure you show up to the hearings (you dont need to answer them like a summons; just show up at the hearing date). By just showing up, you guarantee yourself that the judge will dimiss any "Motions" that realate to "default" or "no trial judgements" since you are there to contest them. Worst case scenario is that the judge will set an actual trial date to settle the matter.

So I do not have to respond to his "motions"?, because what I was going to do was to refile another notice of intent to defend, just change the name of the previous company, and put this new "attorney's" information. I was going to take it to the courthouse nad have them stamp it as received, send a copy to him, requesting the same information and obviously go to the hearing previosuly set by the court. I do have the right to request my documentation showing the amounts they say I owe, etc, right?

That sounds like a good plan. Just keep on top of the case and make sure you show up. When you show up you can show the judge that once more you requested documentation which was not produced. THEN you should file to dismiss, don't let it sit for another 10 months...this time get active and file to have it dismissed. :)

When any motion is filed, the proper procedure is to address it at a hearing. If the motion requires you to respond prior to the hearing (which is very rare), the court paperwork will clearly state that you must answer by a certain date prior to the hearing date.

I would check with the court clerk to make sure that the "motions" were actually submitted to the court and are legitimate. Dont trust any court documents sent to you by the lawyer. They are often fake or altered.

Many of these bottom-feeder lawyers will send you copies of fake "motions" that demand a response in the hopes that you will reveal information and evidence to them before the hearing date and discovery (basically showing your cards early). This way, the lawyer can anticipate your defense, gauge your evidence and falsify paperwork prior to discovery to win a default judgement. For example, if your defense is SOL, he may try to re-age your debt in his paperwork. If your defense is that its not your debt, he may get a weak affidavit from their homeoffice that swears that it is your debt. And etc.

The only "response" I would file is a "Motion to Dismiss". That way, the motion will be added to the same hearing date and you will have a much easier time getting the case dismissed. The judge will go through every motion, see that the case has no legs to stand on, that the laywer has abused the court system by filling motions without merit, and will glady dismiss with prejudice.

Where do I get a sample of a "Motion to Dismiss"? I want to get it filed and be prepared before our hearing in June.
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions!!!!:)

Your local library should have "Motion to Dismiss" templates for your specific juristiction. Sometimes the court clerk will have the forms available so ask them as well (while they can't give you legal advice, I found they can be a great resource such as showing you how to fill out paperwork correctly). Some courts also post the templates on-line as well so search your local court website.

When you fill out the "Motion to Dismiss", be as brief as possible. Don't write about your evidence or defense strategy for the attorney to see. Simply state the allowable claim for your jurisdiction in your motion such as "improper service", "lack of damages" "lack of prosecution" or "SOL".

Thanks for the excellent advice. I will research my local library and call the Clerk of the Court and see if they have the templates.
I will keep you all posted.

The attorneys' office is BOrack and Associates. They are really skillfull...

it sounds like we are going through the same thing. i got the motion to dismiss letter at the beginning of the month but i didn't do anything. i called the court and they gave me the number to Borack and Associates. my hearing is on June 11. but the lady told me i didn't have to go...

now borack office called me home and i told them i will call them back tomorrow.

have you talked to them? i am really nervous.

do you have a lawyer?

come to think about it...i didn't even get served...i just got the intent to dismiss letter on may 5

I have not called them and not plan on calling them either. They tell you not to show up so they can get a default judgement and you can not defend yourself.

spoke to a lawyer and he told me not to show up because they will slap me with a lawsuit when i appear in court.

because i moved in the last year, they have yet to be able to locate my new address to service me with a summons.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it always best to show up. I was under the impression if you don't show up is when a default judgement is entered against you am I right in thinking this? Just from what I have read and what I have went through way back. I remember getting something like that it's been probably at least 7-10 years ago but I didn't think nothing about it didn't bother showing up and they were awarded a default judgement against me. I would never make that mistake again I think it's always best to show up and defend yourself and not allow the judge to award them a default judgement against you.


Johnita

thanks for your input. i never got served a summons i just recieved the dismissal letter. i have spoken to a lawyer and he informed me that if i show up the borack gang with just hand a summons to me since they were not able to reach me at my new address.

this is all so confusing...to go or not to go in this case................

Remove incorrect info.

You should NEVER avoid attorneys for the purpose of avoiding a summons! If they can't serve you in person, they will just find another way to file the lawsuit (in some states, printing the summons in your local newspaper for everyone to see is considered proper service). More likely, they will just falsify their records and claim they served you anyways.

This puts you at a disadvatage because the lawsuit will proceed and you wont even know about it! NEVER avoid a summons. Answering the summons is the first step to fighting off these bottom feeders.

If you are the victim of a sewer service (where they just flush the summons and complaint and say they served you) you can write a motion to vacate judgment on the basis of improper service.

Hey... I agree with all of you. I (we-husband & I) will be there for the hearing. We know that we have done the right thing by filing the papers with the courts and following the rule. I will call the attorney frorpatch gave me a couple of weeks and see how much he charges to represent us. My husband talked to him and he said that we had a good case. Now it is a matter of us affording him. Anything is better than paying +$20,000 judgement. Wishme luck guys!!!!

i wish you all the best!

Thanks.

I Have Been Dealing With Them For Over a Year . . Now I have recieved a letter saying they are going to file with my local court house that I am failing to pay my debt . I Have Written them many time asking them to please send me an update balance on my account because I was Paying it off everymonth I was keeping track of the balance on my side but I wanted to make sure that they were crediting my account for the payemnts I also stopped payment because they have never answered my requests but they are Calling My Landlord wanting to speack to me . In My letter I Expalined that I do not have a Telephone and could they either Email me or send the inforamtion I can Check Email at the Library . I also expalined to them I could No Longer pay the set amount they were requesting because I changed jobs and am not making that much anymore and could I make a weekly payment to them that would equal the amount $100.00 a month they requested
I am at my end of the line Please Help