Woe is me- now its Unifund

was this the same debt you had with javich,bock,and
rathbone?i remember you posting something like that.
did they sell it off?or is this a new judgement?

No, this is a totally different debt.

This is just a complaint right now, no judgment yet, I have to respond within the 28 days. I can't figure out how they arrived at this amount, and they won't validate it. Can I ask for validation at the hearing?

Discovery my friend, request it in discovery. Make them prove their case. Also the 24.99% interest. Was that provided for in the contract? You should also make them break that down for both you and the judge.

JCEMT, I'm making myself look stupid here, but what exactly is discovery, and when does it take place, at the hearing, after the hearing, is it something I request?

This all occurs before the trial. You serve the plaintiff's council with your discovery request, look up laws for civil procedure in your area or consult an attorney.

Ok, thank you very much.

Well consulting an Attorney is out, I don't have funds available for that. I have been searching and searching for information on discovery, I'm not locating what I am looking for, or I'm looking in the wrong places. Can/will someone help me understand and figure out how I should respond to this summons, I only have 28 days to do so. Also, does anyone have any information about the "discovery process" that might be helpful to me? I surely would appreciate it. I am as confused as can be right now. :oops:

hiya shaz--

ok, first things first. You said that you send out a DV letter to Unifund. You need to do a little checking on this one before you answer--it is possible that they filed this complaint AFTER they received your DV letter, which makes this lawsuit unlawful from the get-go. What you need to do is check with the court like before--check for the docket entries on this case. That should tell you the date they filed the complaint with the court. If that date falls on the same day or after the date on the receipt card from your DV letter, then thats your defense right there--that filing this complaint was a direct violation of section 809(b) of the fdcpa.

It may or may not be the case, but it is something you need to know just in case they did do this illegally.

OK Sky, I put in the case number, and even tried it with the name, but it is saying there is no case found.

I am looking at the bottom of the page of the summons, and according to this it was signed by the Deputy Clerk, and dated on 2/11/08. They received the Validation Letter on 2/25/08. I received this summons, yesterday. Oh and, it is stamped in red and filed on 2/11/08.

As long as they filed before they received validation then it is perfectly legal. Has they done it after they received your validation then that would not be legal.

I would call the court house about the case #. I trust a clerk more than I would trust a web site to tell me is the case # is valid or not. When you call take down names and times you called.

Follow Jc's advice on the discovery.

As long as they filed before they received validation then it is perfectly legal. Has they done it after they received your validation then that would not be legal.

I would call the court house about the case #. I trust a clerk more than I would trust a web site to tell me is the case # is valid or not. When you call take down names and times you called.

Follow Jc's advice on the discovery.

I googled "discovery", from what I understand it's basically part of the response I write to the summons? Obtaining information from the other party in the law suit, such as validation of the debt? Do I send a validation letter as part of the discovery, do I send it certified to the plaintiff and the judge? Sorry, but I really am not sure exactly how to go about this. Any suggestions would be helpful and very much appreciated. Thank you.

I googled "discovery", from what I understand it's basically part of the response I write to the summons? Obtaining information from the other party in the law suit, such as validation of the debt? Do I send a validation letter as part of the discovery, do I send it certified to the plaintiff and the judge? Sorry, but I really am not sure exactly how to go about this. Any suggestions would be helpful and very much appreciated. Thank you.

You should have to serve that upon plaintiff's council. You should double check your county's rules for civil procedure to be sure.

When you say serve the plaintiff's attorney, do you mean send a letter certified mail? I've tried to check on the civil service procedures for my county/town, and can't make heads or tails out of them. It's all foreign to me. I just want to make sure I do this right. :?

If I were you, I would look for an attorney that specializes in fighting these predatory debt collectors. Some will file suit and only collect after settlement. Don't know how far along your case is or what state you live in, but I would look up consumer attorneys in your state.

bandibreath is correct, if you are having trouble understanding your county's civil procedures then you should seek legal council.

Or you could just post it here and we'll help you make sense of it. :D

Ideally, I would love to hire an Attorney to represent me, but, realistically I'm not able to afford one. I've searched various web sites trying to locate the Civil Procedure for the state of Ohio, and searched through the county website also. I simply do not know which rule applies to me, or even applies period. It's a jumbled mess to me. :? I feel like I am searching for a needle in a haystack at this point. Just when I think I have located specific information pertaining to my question about discovery, I continue reading paragraph after paragraph, and retain zero information, because I have no clue what I am reading, or even if I am reading the correct information.

I found SOME information, I think. My mind is so totally blank at this point. :? I will post what I found for my county.

RULE 6 ???????? PRETRIAL
6.01 All civil cases will be set for pretrial conference and notice given by the Court.
All counsel and parties shall be present; however, parties may be available by telephone with prior consent of the Court.
6.02 In all civil cases, the parties shall file and serve upon all opposing counsel or parties a pretrial statement which shall include:
A) A brief statement of the facts;
B) The issues of law;
C) Identification of all exhibits expected to be offered at trial;
D) Any itemization of expenses, loss of income, and other special damages;E) Any requests for medical examination of the adverse party;
F) An identification of any persons to be deposed and the tentative dates suchdepositions will be taken;
G) Specifications of any amendments to be made to the pleadings;
H) Identifications of the names and addresses of expert witnesses to be called by theparties;I) An estimate of the time required for trial;
J) A request for a view of the scene, if such request is to be made by the party.The pretrial statement shall be filed seven days prior to the pretrial hearing.6.03 At the conclusion of the pretrial conference, the Court may cause to be prepared and filedan order reflecting the action taken and the agreements or stipulations reached.

It looks like discovery occurs during this pretrial conference.

Me again. :? When I respond to this summons to the CA's Attorney, is there a particular format I should use? Does anyone know how I should word it? I'm going to ask for debt validation, but, I'm really not sure what else to say in the response. Suggestions? Pretty please?

hiya shaz--

did this CA have any contact at all with you, any letters or phone calls, prior to this lawsuit being filed?

Yes, there was contact made through the postal service, bills sent, etc. I have just recently been trying to get my debts organized and attended to, so, I chose to ignore this for awhile, unfortunately. :?

I hate to be such a pain, but, is there a particular format I should use when I respond to this summons? :?