judgement
Date: Tue, 01/18/2011 - 18:07
Where you ever served? First step is to go to the country court
Where you ever served? First step is to go to the country courts website where the judgment was obtained. Get your info from there.
When it comes to a CA like LVNV, I would recommend that you NEVE
When it comes to a CA like LVNV, I would recommend that you NEVER EVER agree to pay them ANYTHING until you get proof that this is even legitimate. Case in point--I just got done answering a post on this forum where LVNV sued someone in 2007. They got a judgment illegally, they never had the person served a summons so he never knew he was being sued. Also, they sued him in a county he doesnt even live in, which is illegal. They sneak around the law like this because they cannot prove their case to begin with--if they could, they wouldnt have to use illegal tactics like this. NEVER agree to pay anything, NEVER say that the debt is yours, NEVER.....until they prove that it is yours, that they have the legal right to collect on it, and that the amount they are claiming you owe is legitimate. The burden is on THEM to prove these things--make them prove it. If you were never served a summons for this lawsuit, you can try to get it vacated through the courts and it will come off your credit report anyways if youre successful.
As a matter of fact, I contacted the court clerk today and found
As a matter of fact, I contacted the court clerk today and found the address of service is about 500 miles away from my address at that time. I was never served or i would have tried to resolve before it went to court. the clerk said I have to file at the same court in montgomery county, or hire a lawyer to appear for me. i cant just start taking days off work to make road trips to the court house. Is there consumer advocate lawyers that can help me or do I need to come up with money to pay a lawyer.
OK, lets start at the beginning.... First, what state do you li
OK, lets start at the beginning....
First, what state do you live in? Also, what kind of debt are they saying this is--credit card, personal loan, etc? From there, we need to know how old this debt is. Every state has a statute of limitations that provides a set amount of time that debt collectors have in which to file suit. The clock begins when the account first becomes past due. The time is different for each state. It is possible that they sued you over a debt that was past the SOL, which is illegal.
Even without that being answered, there are two reasons that you have for this judgment to be vacated. First, when a debt collector like LVNV sues someone, the law only allows them to do it in one of two places. They must sue you either in the county and state where you currently live, or in the county and state where the debt was allegedly originated. On your credit report, it will list the court that this case was filed in--it is a common trick for CA's like LVNV to file suit in the wrong county in order to keep you from hearing about the suit, so you cannot fight it. They often do this when they do not have enough proof to win if you contest their complaint.
Did you ever live at the address that they served you at?
I would file a motion with that court--if it is not in the county where you live, and if you didnt live there when they claim this debt was originated, then I would file an order to show cause/motion to vacate judgment due to improper service and improper venue. If you did live in the county you were sued in, then I would file the same order on the grounds of improper service. This will especially help your case if you never lived at the address that they served you at, because you can then tell the court that they claim to have had you served at an address that you never even lived at.
The format is not the same in every state, so check with the court clerks office to see if there is a specific format that is required. Remember now, this is to be filed in whatever county court that they sued you in. I would basically state something like this in the body of the motion:
Quote:
Comes now the Defendant, (name), PRO SE, and asks that this Honorable Court vacate the judgment identified herein due to improper service and improper venue. 1) Defendant hereby claims Improper Service. The docket for this case has on record that plaintiff had defendant served the summons at (address). Defendant does not now, and has never, resided at that address. Defendant in fact, at the time of this alleged service, lived five hundred miles away from the address that plaintiff used for service. Thus, defendant was denied the right to due process by plaintiff's action, as defendant's only notice of this suit came in January, 2011, while checking his credit report. 2) Defendant claims Improper Venue. Section 811(15 USC 1692i) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act(FDCPA) states that any debt collector that brings a lawsuit in the course of attempting to collect a debt must bring that suit either in the county of residence for the defendant or the county where the debt allegedly originated. Plaintiff chose to file this case in a county that Defendant did not reside in at the time of filing, and has never resided in. Plaintiff has not demonstrated that defendant did reside in (county that the court is in), or that the alleged debt was originated there, nor has plaintiff demonstrated any existence of a reasonable assumption that the jurisdiction was proper. Therefore, plaintiff filed this lawsuit in clear violation of the FDCPA. Whereas, defendant prays that this Honorable Court vacate the judgment that plaintiff has obtained through illegal means. |
Of course, remember this--you can only make these kinds of statements if they are true and correct. If you lived at that address at some point in your adult life, you shouldnt tell the court that you did not. But this should give you a basic idea that can be changed to fit the specifics of the truth here. I can help you get it set up specifically to fit the details of your case if you would like.