Hi. I have to go to court next week to defend myself against a Motion for Summary Judgement from Midland Funding. I have never been to court and do not know what to expect. Following is link to the Complaint, my Answer, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgement and my Objection to Motion and Request for Documents. Also please see my responses to common questions below. Thank you in advance for any advice you might offer. *******EDIT - If you can't open files below see other link in my next post below ************
Complaint: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s447/res/9d65396d-9099-4f47-9436-1b3c79784d0b
My Answer to Complaint: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s447/res/41cff245-a48c-4b0c-b1ae-0c2c479497d7
Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgement: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s447/res/4ea10ea3-a221-4f66-99bb-f4ff5f7e9010
My Objection to Motion: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s447/res/3d47dcdc-fe54-421f-9ab7-54ee5fd7cf9f
My Request for Documents: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s447/res/82843a43-805b-4e74-8b54-355e4c1bdd4f
1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding
2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Lustig, Glasser & Wilson from Massachusetts
3. How much are you being sued for? $1527 (about $315 of that is fees tacked at charge off)
4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) GE Capital Retail Bank (TJ Maxx credit card) who then sold to Synchrony Bank
5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Yes, served - see below-
6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Husband answered door and was given papers while I was upstairs
7. Was the service legal as required by your state? I believe so, yes
Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint
8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? None with me but my 11 year old son may have answered a call from them once
9. What state and county do you live in? RI
10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Never did. Called in TJ Maxx in December just around Christmas to pay bill but I was told I could not as it had just been charged off.
11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 10 years in RI
Statute of Limitations on Debts
12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Served and I answered complaint. Midland immediately sent Motion for Summary Judgement. I filed an Objection to Motion for SJ and I requested Documents. Hearing for Motion is next week, 9/22/16.
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). If you don't respond to the lawsuit notice you will lose automatically. In 99% of the cases, they will require you to answer the summons, and each point they are claiming. We need to know what the "charges" are. Please post what they are claiming. Did you receive an interrogatory (questionnaire) regarding the lawsuit? No Questionnaire. Re: Midland’s claims, please see the link to Complaint below as there are 18 counts
Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits
16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.
Affidavit 1: “Legal Specialist” with access to records for Midland Credit Management
Affidavit 2: “Affidavit Documentation Specialist” of Synchrony Bank
Bill of Sale
Seller Data Sheet
A last document that looks like a TJ Maxx bill with total amount charged off
