Just got served court paper, Please help

[Pallybear]

I searched around the forum for a couple of hours and couldn't find all the answers that pertains to my situation. I am in desperate need for some advice, please help

I was served court paper today and the Plaintiff is Livingston Financial LLC (From my research, it appears they are a JDB). The original debt is owed to US Bank. My debt is currently still within the SOL in the state of Oregon, which is 6 years. The debt is for the amount of 4k, but over 1,700 dollars is in interest (I believe)

My questions:

1. How should I second the "motion" when I go to the court house in the next few days?

2. Is it too late for me to send a DV letter to the plaintiff?

Any advice you have is greatly appreciated it. Thank you again

[MarvinArizona]

first thing , remove the exact amount of your debt right now , edit it out right away pls .... just say 4 K .. but don't give specifics ...

others will be along sooner or later to assist you .

[Coltfan1972]

You don't second the motion. That is for things like board meetings or city council. Also, when you second a motion that means you support the motion. Obviously you don't support the other side, which is suing you.

You need to read the rules of procedure for Oregon. I would also look closely at the summons. It will tell you how long you have to answer. Generally speaking, you will file a written answer denying the allegations (like not guilty in criminal court).

And yes the DV ship has sailed. You're in the ultimate venue for DV, court. They will need a ton more to win in court than they would have to respond to your DV letter, so that is really no big deal.

[Pallybear]

Thank you for the clarification on the whole motion thing, i just read that from the court paper...

Thank you very much for the advice, i will go read on rules of procedure for Oregon right now.

I just want to make sure I understood you correctly, so it's too late to send them a DV letter, right?

Also should i settle out of court by calling them or should i go through with the court thing?

Thanks again, Sorry i am total noob at this, really stressed out since been served.

[BV80]

It's too late to DV. Check the original creditor's entry on your credit report. If the OC sold the debt, their entry will state "sold/transferred"...something like that. If that's the case, the JDB has purchased it.

It would help if you would copy and answer the questions in the following link:

Q's to answer when posting in this forum - please read!

[Coltfan1972]

Yes, it's too late for DV. Actually you still have DV, but it's now called discovery and it is better than DV.

DV just means they pretty much need to send you a letter stating, yep, we checked the O.C. records and you and the amount is correct. With discovery, you ask for everything they will need to win at trial. If they don't give it to you or disclose, then generally speaking, they can't use the evidence they did not disclose to you.

In a million years, I would never settle with a JDB, however, nobody can tell you if you should. If you want it done with and over then you can settle. Just keep in mind that generally speaking, a JDB can rarely prove their case if pushed to a trial.

Nothing personal, but it appears you don't know much about the court system. Nothing wrong with that at all, that is not meant to slam you. You've probably never had a need to learn it. So, if you want to put in the time and effort to learn the law on this matter, you can probably win. It is not rocket science but it is more complicated than reading the instructions on how to program your new tv. Procedure is the main thing to learn, and at this stage very important. A procedural error can lose the case before the facts even come into play.

Nobody but you can answer if you should settle. If you do want to settle then I'd do it now while the other side does not have a ton invested. You're more likely to get a better settlement.

[Pallybear]

. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?
Livingston Financial LLC

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.)
Livingston Financial LLC

3. How much are you being sued for?
4k

4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff)
US BANK

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?)
YES


6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door)
In Person

7. Was the service legal as required by your state?
Yes


8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?
Never responded to them

9. What state and county do you live in?
Oregon, Lane County

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) I paid june 2006

11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out:
6 years


12. What is the status of your case?
I just got served today earlier during the day, the lane county circuit court page doesn't provide me the information, but i will call first thing in the morning.

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)
NO

14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late.
NO

15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? (This should be in your paperwork).
I have 30 days. they are claiming 1. relief against me - breach of contract. I did not receive an interrogatory regarding the lawsuit. 2. Claim for relief - Quantum Meruit


16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.
They didn't attach anything as exhibits.

Thank you again

[Pallybear]

@Coltfan1972

Yes, you are absolutely right. I have gone through 28 years of my life not knowing anything about the court system, for one i never had the need to. I am a business marketing student that work on computers for a living.

It seems like now its the time to pick up the slack for all the years, I want to learn as much as i can giving the time frame of the situation at hand. I appreciate you taking the time to explain to people like me, who are desperate in need of help. It's extremely intimidating when served with court paper with all sorts of complicated legal terms when i have no clue what they mean.

I don't want to settle if i don't have to, i was just curious if I had a shot at this stage to even win this, i guess that was kind of a cowardice question on my part

[1stStep]

This sounds like a CC debt...Livingston mainly buys old CC accounts.

Answer the complaint, and maybe look into arbitration....this seems like the perfect account to take into private arbitration.

[Coltfan1972]

A junk debt buyer with an old credit card debt, yes you can win. You can also settle for a fraction if you want.

While I'm not a fan of arbitration, I do agree, a motion to compel arbitration might send them packing. They probably paid three or four cents on the dollar and the cost to even start arbitration would be 100 times more than they paid, probably.

[legaleagle]

To win, you have to have a defense. Amnesia won't work, inability to pay won't work, etc. Your best shot is to make the JDB prove ownership of the account. Arbitration may work too, read the credit card agreement.

[KentWA]

Originally Posted by Pallybear

I don't want to settle if i don't have to, i was just curious if I had a shot at this stage to even win this, i guess that was kind of a cowardice question on my part

These guys are a JDB and most certainly it is very easy to win against these bottom feeders. It does take a little bit of effort to learn some new things, but not difficult. Some of the most knowledgeable and helpful members of this forum came here much like you scared and not knowing a thing. Today many of those members have defeated highly educated lawyers in court and in one case it is on YouTube.

You are going to want to read up an properly answering the suit which there are hundreds of recent threads about that. You are also going to need to read your states rules of civil procedure. But most important take a bit of time right now to take a few deep breaths and calm down.

Unlike Coltfan, I would and have settled with a JDB. I have never gone very far into a case where they are not getting out their checkbook to write me a check. The only one that did, went over 2 years and I had a lawyer handling it but then I think I did better out of that one than I would have if I was Pro Se.

[Pallybear]

After doing a ton of research in the last week or so, combined with work/school. I feel like my head is about to explode - anyways I am finely confident in all my research knowledge to sit down and write my answer.

Quick question if any of you could please lend some help.

The complaint wrote this which is really confusing

Plaintiff asserts the following claims for relief against defendant:

1. Jurisdiction and venue are proper. Plaintiff is a lawfully organized business engaged in interstate commerce. Defendant resides in the county in which this action has been filed.

First claim for relief - breach of contract

2. Defendant was indebt..... ( I know how to answer from this point on)

My question is how exactly do i answer for the first part? I do reside int he county in which the complaint has been filed, so i should admit. Although they haven't prove or provided they are licensed and procured a bond in the State of Oregon to collect debt.

How exactly do i answer to that?

[BV80]

Originally Posted by Pallybear

After doing a ton of research in the last week or so, combined with work/school. I feel like my head is about to explode - anyways I am finely confident in all my research knowledge to sit down and write my answer.

Quick question if any of you could please lend some help.

The complaint wrote this which is really confusing

Plaintiff asserts the following claims for relief against defendant:

1. Jurisdiction and venue are proper. Plaintiff is a lawfully organized business engaged in interstate commerce. Defendant resides in the county in which this action has been filed.

First claim for relief - breach of contract

2. Defendant was indebt..... ( I know how to answer from this point on)

My question is how exactly do i answer for the first part? I do reside int he county in which the complaint has been filed, so i should admit. Although they haven't prove or provided they are licensed and procured a bond in the State of Oregon to collect debt.

How exactly do i answer to that?

I suppose you could respond with something like:

Defendant admits that he/she is a resident of the county in which the action has been filed. However, Defendant cannot admit or deny that Plaintiff is a lawfully organized business engaged in interstate commerce as Defendant has no knowledge as to the truth or accuracy of the claim.

Something like that.

[usagi555]

Originally Posted by Pallybear

After doing a ton of research in the last week or so, combined with work/school. I feel like my head is about to explode - anyways I am finely confident in all my research knowledge to sit down and write my answer.

Quick question if any of you could please lend some help.

The complaint wrote this which is really confusing

Plaintiff asserts the following claims for relief against defendant:

1. Jurisdiction and venue are proper. Plaintiff is a lawfully organized business engaged in interstate commerce. Defendant resides in the county in which this action has been filed.

First claim for relief - breach of contract

2. Defendant was indebt..... ( I know how to answer from this point on)

My question is how exactly do i answer for the first part? I do reside int he county in which the complaint has been filed, so i should admit. Although they haven't prove or provided they are licensed and procured a bond in the State of Oregon to collect debt.

How exactly do i answer to that?

You answer truthfully. You don't have to get fancy, but it wouldn't hurt to start using the lingo. Do you know what their status as a lawfully organized business is? No. Therefore, you go through your rules of civil procedure and see how you respond to averments that you don't know the answer to. When you don't know the answer, it may be treated as a denial. That's fine, but keep in mind that this is only a big deal if they aren't a lawfully organized business, or if the venue is improper. You are allowed to respond to this stuff with "Defendant admits to living in <XXXXXX> county, but is unaware of Plaintiff's status as....blah blah blah."

Just don't use the part in your actual pleading!

[Pallybear]

Originally Posted by BV80

I suppose you could respond with something like:

Defendant admits that he/she is a resident of the county in which the action has been filed. However, Defendant cannot admit or deny that Plaintiff is a lawfully organized business engaged in interstate commerce as Defendant has no knowledge as to the truth or accuracy of the claim.

Something like that.

That's awesome, thank you so much.

[Pallybear]

Originally Posted by usagi555

You answer truthfully. You don't have to get fancy, but it wouldn't hurt to start using the lingo. Do you know what their status as a lawfully organized business is? No. Therefore, you go through your rules of civil procedure and see how you respond to averments that you don't know the answer to. When you don't know the answer, it may be treated as a denial. That's fine, but keep in mind that this is only a big deal if they aren't a lawfully organized business, or if the venue is improper. You are allowed to respond to this stuff with "Defendant admits to living in <XXXXXX> county, but is unaware of Plaintiff's status as....blah blah blah."

Just don't use the part in your actual pleading!

Thank you, I will most definitely leave out the blah part hahahaha

[Pallybear]

this one made me scratch my head again for a proper way to answer

5. further , more than twenty days before filling this action, written demand was made on defendant for payment of all sums due, but the balance remains unpaid.


I did receive letters from them so that is true.

[1stStep]

If you admit this, you've torpedoed your case...

Deny. Defendant does not recall receiving such demand, but reserves the right to amend as further information is discovered.

[BV80]

Originally Posted by 1stStep

If you admit this, you've torpedoed your case...

Deny. Defendant does not recall receiving such demand, but reserves the right to amend as further information is discovered.

I don't think the OP would be torpedoed if he admits receiving a demand for payment. Just because you receive a demand from a CA or JDB doesn't mean you owe the debt. However, I think your answer works.