Foster & Garbus

You should answer the summons within 30 days of the day you received it. The date on the summons is the date it was filed not the day you were served. You should answer the allegations in the complaint attached to the summons and mention any reasons why the case should be dismissed in the answer, and attach any evidence to prove what you say. In order to prove you were not properly served, you will need the affidavit of service.

Some courthouses have pro se help desks available, staffed by lawyers who can advise you about your jurisdiction's specific rules better. Court Clerks love to practice law without licenses (and can get away with it), but if you need legal advice you should talk to a lawyer in your area.

Thanks for the response. I went to the clerks office and filed my answer, but they wouldn't allow me to attach any evidence to my answer. I asked her how I could get it submitted and she told me to just bring it to court with me. What can I do? Is there a way to file for discovery at this point? The last payment they say was in August of 2007 and I was divorced in March 2005, so my ex-husband was making payments for over two years on it. Will it help me at all to have them show the history of payments, etc through discovery?

A divorce decree means nothing...you are still legally responsible for it so that arguement is moot. You have to haul your ex back to court and sue him.

Well great. So what happens when I get to court then? Just say I'll pay it? Can I still file a motion for discovery and try to get this thrown out? Does that even work?

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A class action covering California and New York has been filed in New York against collection specialists Forster & Garbus. The action is brought on behalf of all California and New York residents who received form type collection letters from Forster & Garbus which offered to settle the consumers' alleged debt for a lesser amount. The action is brought under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and seeks statutory damages as well as injunctive and declaratory relief.
According to consumers, Forster & Garbus have engaged in misleading, deceptive and unfair practices in their efforts to collect alleged consumer debts for the benefit of third parties. The consumers allege that Forster & Garbus included in their initial collection letters an offer to settle the alleged debt for a lesser amount. However, the consumers claim that this offer contained specific time limits on accepting the settlement. The consumers claim that by including specific time limits for accepting the settlement offer, Forster & Garbus are engaging in misleading conduct. According to the consumers, it would be possible to contact the creditor directly at any time and settle their debt. Additionally, the consumers allege that by stating in their letters that payment is to be made directly to Forster & Garbus, consumers are lead to believe that they can only settle these claims directly with the collecting attorneys, when, in fact, the consumers assert that they could settle their debts with the creditor directly. Finally, the consumers allege that the letters generated by Forster & Garbus lead readers to believe that an actual attorney has reviewed their file. However, according to the consumers, the letters are "form" type and are generated by non-legal staff members.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, any misleading, unfair, deceptive or untrue representations made in an effort to collect a debt are strictly forbidden. Additionally, any representations made with the intent to coerce consumers into making payments are equally forbidden. According to the consumers, the representations made by Forster & Garbus as part of their initial collection letters were both misleading and made in an effort to coerce consumers into making immediate payments.

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