texasrocker

You cannot use a general denial for answering discovery. You must answer each and every one, whether it be "denied" "admitted" or "objection." Don't file it with the court, send it via certified mail to the attorney's office that filed the law suit.

They may be able to file an appeal but I doubt they could successfully get it reinstated since it was dismissed with prejudice. They don't have much hope- criminy, repeatedly misreading a calendar is about the sorriest excuse I have seen to base an appeal on! Is this law firm Rausch, Sturm, Israel, Enerson & Hornik? Their latest antic is to file the lawsuit, no response to discovery, no response to "meet and confir" letter regarding filing a motion to compel the answers. Suit nearly always ends up dismissed for want of prosecution without prejudice then they just start the whole thing over again. For the last year or so I have been recommending filing a No-evidence Motion for Summary Judgment after seven days failure to answer letter stating that a motion to compel will be filed. Include a proposed order worded, "...dismissed with prejudice" for the judge to sign. It is highly likely that they will miscalendar the hearing for the MSJ also so with no one there to ask for "without prejudice" then it will be over and done with. Why give them anymore chances to continue disrupting your life?

For your answer use the same format as the Plaintiff's Original Petition that you were served with the court and case information on top of the page. DEFENDANT'S ORIGINAL ANSWER Comes now, <your name>, the Defendant in the above styled and numbered cause and files this Original Answer in this action and would respectfully show the following: I. GENERAL DENIAL Defendant generally denies each and every, all and singular, of the allegations set forth in the Plaintiff's Original Petition and demands that the Plaintiff proves same by the preponderance of credible evidence. II. PRAYER Wherefore Defendant requests judgment of the Court that Plaintiff takes nothing from the Defendant and the Defendant be granted any further relief that <he or she> is justly entitled to. <Your name, address and phone number>

The Texas Supreme Court abolished small claims courts in 2013. We had a lengthy discussion on this topic a year ago or so.

@fisthardcheese

I suppose you could word it any way you so desire but no such affirmative defense is required in Texas. One could actually just say, "The defendant generally denies all allegations brought forth by the plaintiff."

For your answer use the same format as the Plaintiff's Original Petition that you were served with the court and case information on top of the page. DEFENDANT'S ORIGINAL ANSWER Comes now, <your name>, the Defendant in the above styled and numbered cause and files this Original Answer in this action and would respectfully show the following: I. GENERAL DENIAL Defendant generally denies each and every, all and singular, of the allegations set forth in the Plaintiff's Original Petition and demands that the Plaintiff proves same by the preponderance of credible evidence. II. PRAYER Wherefore Defendant requests judgment of the Court that Plaintiff takes nothing from the Defendant and the Defendant be granted any further relief that <he or she> is justly entitled to. <Your name, address and phone number> File it with the court as soon as possible and send a copy to the attorney's office that filed the lawsuit.

They are not necessarily sending you the 1099-C to "get even." They are required by law to send it if the cancelled debt is over $600 although many JDB's ignore the law. You are more likely to receive one from an original creditor. If you try to dispute any type of 1099 through the IRS the first thing they will tell you is to take it up with the entity that sent it.

Exactly. That is the reason I said they would need an attorney especially in a state that has so little case law available. Their assumption that case law from other states is valid if they cannot find anything from their own state shows that they are clueless regarding rules and procedure. In most cases there is a very small window concerning when an appeal must be filed so there is little chance that the time to research and learn everything is available.

You definitely need an attorney for an appeal. Look through public court records at your court house and find one who has won against JDB's.

Exactly but I should have mentioned that a "promise to pay" while it is still in effect will not reset it.

Only if said promise is in writing and signed by the defendant. TEXAS CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE Sec. 16.065. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF CLAIM. An acknowledgment of the justness of a claim that appears to be barred by limitations is not admissible in evidence to defeat the law of limitations if made after the time that the claim is due unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged.

Scan or type out the items and post it here.

@fisthardcheese

Utilizing contractual arbitration as a means to defend your case and court ordered mediation are two completely different things. I understand how it it could be confusing because of the similarity of the terms. The purpose of court ordered mediation is to try to get the parties to settle disagreements without going through court. Contractual arbitration is a method of defending your case through a private arbitrator such as Jams. As I said there is no need to amend the answer but it is probably imperative that they attend the mediation meeting.