Search the Community

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? LVNV Funding 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Messerli & Kramer 3. How much are you being sued for? $1500 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Credit one 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served 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? None 9. What state and county do you live in? Lyon County, Minnesota 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 2017 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? Unsure- I'll check 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 Years 13. 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). Nothing filed- summons served. It's a MN pocket docket situation 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No 15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but disputing after being sued could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No 16. 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? Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits 21 days- april 20 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Nothing 18. How did you find out about this site? Through an internet search 18. Read these two links: Using Arbitration To Defend A Debt Collection Lawsuit Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits Hi! I've been reading through the forums and I think I have a plan but wanted to see if one of the MN experts could confirm for me that I'm on the right path. 1. I received the summons from JDBs local attorney and will answer all complaints with the state's Answer form. There are 3 complaints: 1. The first is " Defendant owes plaintiff $1500 for goods and services sold and delivered... purchases were made on charge account bearing account number... which was issued to Defendant by Credit One Bank." 2. Lvnv funding owns this account 3. Defendant is in default for failing to make the required payment. I *think* I answer Deny to all three because.... 2. I'm not sure about the card agreement from when i opened my account, but the one in effect when i defaulted has an arbitration clause with the small claims exception. I intend to file a claim with AAA (thank you hard cheese person for the awesome arbitration thread). 3. In my Answer to Summons, I'll put Lack of Jurisdiction and note the AAA arbitration case file number. 4. I'll send the Answer and AAA case file info to the attorney. No need to file with court per court rules. 5. Call in two weeks to talk about settlement? Sooo.... 1. A DV is pointless, right? 2. Do I hold off on filing a MTC for arb until they actually file a suit in court? 3. Did I miss anything? It feels too simple. I mean, I spent about 10 hours reading through these forums, but it feels like there should be more to it? Or did I actually manage to distill it down to the relevant action items? Thanks in advance, you're all awesome!

So...as of recently I believe the debt (disputed) a JDB...Portfolio Recover Associates...has been trying to collect is time-barred. Periodic correspondence over the past year (!) has requested PRA provide proof of origination of claimed debt, a full payment history, etc. Each communication has stated clearly that the debt was in dispute and not acknowledged as valid. At one point a complaint was also filed with the CFPB for misleading correspondence from PRA. It was also made clear that the response to any type of filing would be a request for arbitration per the alleged agreement. Whatever has been happening on the other end of this...the clock appears to have run out. I'm curious about tactics from here. I assume PRA is likely to still file an action...and I'd need to respond. Based on what I've read I'd assert an affirmative defense that the debt is is now time-barred. But would I first respond that court was an improper venue and the action should be taken to arbitration...then point out that the debt is time-barred there? It seems like I'd want to do that, to get into the venue the agreement they contend I'm party to stipulates as the proper forum, then call out the time-barred status there. Comments/thoughts? TIA!

First off, thank you to everyone who provides info on this forum. I never would have gotten to where I am with my defense against Midland Funding. I'm being sued by Midland Funding in MN civil court. They filed a motion for summary judgment and the hearing is next week. I did not file anything during discovery and instead elected to elect arbitration with AAA (alleged contract with Citibank NA states AAA is only option). At the same time I filed a motion to dismiss/compel arbitration. Anyway, the firm representing Midland was served properly and with enough notice and the motion hearing was this morning. No one from the firm showed up. The judge was not too happy obviously, and said that the date originally for the summary judgement next week will now be used for my motion, she will discuss what happened with the judge scheduled for that hearing and also mentioned the possibility of a default judgement in my favor due to no one showing up. So, they are in trouble. My question is what should I do to keep the boot on the throat, so to speak. I believe I have some momentum in my favor, I want to be able to take full advantage. At a minimum, they wasted my time and the court's time -- how do I hold them accountable and demonstrate to the court I respect the court's time, unlike the firm suing me. Thanks in advance.

I received a court summons in the mail today. It was for a credit card I had a few years ago through Synchrony Bank that ended up being charged off in November, 2016. Midland Funding LLC apparently bought the debt, and is now going to sue me for the $1,400 balance, plus court fees. The total amount they're asking for is $1520. Honestly, I had forgotten about this debt after it got charged off. I would love to be able to just pay it off, but I just don't have the money right now, and wouldn't be able to come up with it before the court date. I don't even bring home $1,500 a month, because nearly half of my paycheck is automatically taken out for health insurance for my family. I can't make changes to my insurance elections until open enrollment for next year. On top of that my student loans just went into repayment, and I have a car payment. Most of my husband's income goes to our mortgage, insurance, and other bills. I've never been taken to court before, so I'm kind of shook up and don't know what to do. Do I need to get a lawyer for this? Is there anything I have to do before the court date (August 30). Is it possible my checks could end up being garnished for this? Is there any way of me possibly being able to get more time to pay this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The letter I got reads as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLAINTIFF'S STATEMENT OF CLAIM 1. The Defendant(s) owe(s) Plantiff $1437.75, plus a filing fee of $78, plus an e-filing fee of $5.00 for a total of $1520.75 because: The creditor issued a credit account to the Defendant(s). Defendant(s) made purchase and/or received cash advances on the charge account number xxxxxxxxxxXXXX. The last payment made on the account was received on March 25, 2016. The account was charged off by the original creditor on November 18, 2016 with a balance of $1437.75 Midland FUnding LLC owns this account and is successor in interest to Synchrony Bank (Ashley Furniture HomeStore), for this account. Plantiff purchased the account on December 29, 2016, and is attempting to collect the debt. Defendant(s) is/are in default for failing to make payments on the charge account. THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR 2. The Defendant(s) has/have the following property that belongs to me ____, valued at $____, plus filing fees and costs of $______. For a total of $____. I want the Court to Order this property returned to me or make the Defendant(s) pay me money for the value of the property. 3. I believe the person(s) I am suing is/are at least 18 years old and not in the military service. 4. I understand that if I do not come on my hearing date, my case may be dismissed and I may have to pay the money to the Defendant(s) on any counterclaim that has been filed.

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to check this out, Last week I received a 'summons' from Midland Funding LLC by a courier for a debt they say I owe them. Just today they sent another copy of the 'summons' in a letter that came through the mail (USPS). After quite a few Google searches which linked me to a lot of posts on this forum I decided to start my own thread since I believe my issue may be a bit different than the others I've read through. If it isn't something totally 'new', I apologize but I could use help still! Some more of the story: Last week (April 7th) a courier delivered a few documents stapled together (not in an envelope) to my father and after looking through it, it appears to me to be a fake summons. My father told the courier that I was here but that I was sleeping and accepted it himself. I'm not sure if it matters, but my father and I share the same name, is that something I can use in my favor? After looking things up, it seems that that may have been a big no no for them to give the document to anyone but me, or am I mistaken? I also say 'fake summons' because after checking ( https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_4 ) I noticed a few things missing on the 'summons'. There are no signatures anywhere except Midland's attorney, nor do I see a court seal. It also doesn't state the time I must defend myself, so there are at least 3 things missing that supposedly MUST be on it. After some more researching, I've realized that this may just be them showing me their intent if I do not follow their 'plan'. It also seems more like a bully tactic to scare me into calling them, confessing all of my sins while they record it to use it as evidence to collect on this figure they've come up with which is larger than the limit on any card I've had. So now, I guess what I'm asking is what should I do next? So far, I haven't done anything. I've read through these documents and quite a few similar issues on here, and now I'm here looking for help! The documents say I have 20 days to respond (so, from April 7th, which would give me until the 27th, 11 days from today) if it IS legit. Should I try to get free legal help? I cannot really afford an attorney let alone the debt Midland says I owe them, but I've heard Minnesota courts are some of the worst for the consumer (IE: me!) in the country. I don't want to have the deck stacked against me when I'm trying to get my life back in gear. I'll save the full sob story, but I've dealt with addiction and I'm starting up school this fall and this issue is really distracting me from continuing on with the next stage in life. I really hope this isn't as big of an issue as my mind is making it, but trying to stay positive is getting very difficult. Anyway, any help at all would be greatly appreciated! If there's anything I've left out that could be of help, please let me know so I can provide it. Thank you again for taking the time to read this, Jeff -

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? EQUABLE ASCENT FINANCIAL LLC ASSIGNEE OF Chase Bank USA, N.A. (WAMU) 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Rausch, Sturm, Israel, Enerson & Hornik, LLC 3. How much are you being sued for? $12,500 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Providian - Washington Mutual - Chase 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) I was served. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Personal service. 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? None. 9. What state and county do you live in? Hennepin County Minnesota (when I was served); Carver County Minnesota (when suit was filed). 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Apr 2010. 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 yrs in Minnesota. 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). I was served in July 2011, I served my Answer to Plaintiff's attorney within 20 days and complaint was filed with the court in April 2013. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) Negative. 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. Negative. 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? I had to Answer within 20 days (and I did). Details of Complaint and my Answer posted below. 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Nothing- no attachments.

Hi all, I'm new to this forum, have been reading other debt/credit forums for years now. This is long, and I apologize, but there's a lot of specifics. I'm in search of some very specific answers that require some understanding of Minn*eso*ta law. I cannot find clear answers to these questions in the Rules of Procedure. Approx. a year ago I was served (pocket service) a Summons & Complaint by Pe*zz*uto Law Firm, representing C-a- c-h LLC, who had purchased a debt from US Ba_nk (amt appro. $6500). I hired an atty listed on NACA, who drafted my Answer and submitted it to Pe*zz*uto within the 20 day time frame required in MN. Some initial disclosures were made, persuant to the newer rules of procedure in MN civil cases. (Essentially, Pe*zz*uto's office mailed my atty a couple statements, affidavit stating they owned the debt., etc.). Just short of the 1-year deadline for filing the case in court, Pe*zz*uto filed in district court. My atty admitted the affidavit doesn't technically meet standards of proof, but said he's dealt with many judges who accept it anyway and it would be hard for me to prevail in court. Suggested I try and settle. Either way, it would have been a retainer fee of roughly half my debt, so I declined. Instead, I decided to try push for arbitration, as there's an arb clause in the the US Bank contract that allows either party to initiate (including the contract Pe*zz*uto submitted to my atty). It includes JAMS, so my desire was to force the issue in the hopes they'd drop the case due to the high cost of JAMS. Now pro se, I completed the JAMS initiation paperwork, sent a copy to Pe*zz*uto's office with my cover letter stating I was initiating JAMS, then once I received proof of delivery sent the initiation in to JAMS. This was last week. Pe*zz*uto's office promptly mailed me a letter stating I'd waived my right to arbitration, citing Minn*eso*ta case law where MTC arb had been denied. I looked up both cases; one involved a case that was already deep in court litigation, and the other involved a case where arbitration was not brought up until _appeal_. Issue #1: Whether or not I have waived my right seems to be hinged on how the MN courts define lititation. If litigation is considered to be court proceedings, then I'm likely fine because I've not wasted the judge's time, etc. However, if litigation is considered to include the past year with the summons, my answer, and then crickets, then I may in fact be screwed. Does anyone know how this may be interpreted by a court or if I have indeed waived my right to arbitration by not initiating earlier? Likewise, arbitration was NOT indicated in the answer my atty sent to Pe*zz*uto (although there was that standard line about "other defenses" the defendant may assert blah blah blah). Issue #2: Although Pe*zz*uto received my Answer from my (now former) atty, preventing them from getting a default judgment, I've not filed an Answer in court. No court dates have been set YET. Folks on other boards have said to file a Motion to Compel Arb in Lieu of my Answer. This sounds great, except I am unsure how this works in terms of having a previous Answer floating around out there. Today I called 4 different attorneys in Minn*eap*olis. Either they didn't know enough about arb to help me or they only work on full retainer cases. No one could provide any guidance, even though I was willing to do a paid consult. So my second question is this: Can I file an Answer (or Motion in lieu of Answer) with the court that is NOT the same as the Answer sent to Pe*zz*uto's office a year ago by my former atty? Or, am I somehow legally bound to submit that answer? IF I file a MTC in Lieu, can Pe*zz*uto come back and claim I didn't make a strong assertion of arb in my Answer to them? And if so, am I doomed? I am under the gun with this given Pe*zz*uto's statement about seeking a summary judgement soon, and it will cost me $422 to file this stuff and if it's wrong the Court clerk will still accept it (as they can't give out any legal advice), so I obviously want to do this the right way. I've spent literally hours pouring over case law, appeal court opinions, rules of procedure, and other debt boards but due to some of the uniqueness of MN and this pocket service stuff, I just can't find specific answers to some of this. In fact, when I asked one atty earlier today if the Answer sent to Pe*zz*uto a year ago but not officially filed yet "counts" in the eyes of the court, he said, "Well....Yes and No." So, yeah. I need some help. Please. I'm begging. I feel like I'm losing my mind and my husband is sick of listening to me talk about this. I almost just threw in the towel today and called Pe*zz*uto to ask them how much they want to drop the case, but then regained my sanity. If you made it this far, thanks for reading (and you're a total saint). FM

Today I just realized something. As I wait for the green cards to return for my JAMS Demand for CACH and their attorneys, for the shady dealings associated with their judgment victory over me, I have a victory of my own: I now have NO DEBTS that can be successfully sued, if I fight back, even a little. The two remaining ones, another CACH and a Chase, are both out of DE SOL now, and MN's borrowing statute is pretty strong. YAY! I can tell any collectors to FOAD. Some sweetness is good, yes?

I just called the courthouse, and the "closed administratively" entry from yesterday was a granting of the MSJ. Now, I will need to appeal. Too upset at the moment to do anything but be upset, so will look up costs of appeal, and get funds out of joint account. EDIT: Jeesum. Just to file the appeal is $550. WTF.

Here is a link I found while researching issues on my case: http://www.volunteerlawyersnetwork.org/files/Motions%20to%20Vacate%20Default%20Judgments%20Tips.pdf Mine isn't default, so it's not too helpful for me. But for too many people, default is their first notice that they've been sued.

Just got off the phone with the scheduling clerk at the courthouse. I have a date for my Motion to Compel to be heard. What's interesting is that the attys for CACH opened the case--hours before I got to the courthouse to file my motion--but have filed no paperwork, nor have they requested any hearing, etc. The clerk was a little confused. Why would I want to schedule a hearing? It was gratifying, though, to have her say, at the end, "Sounds like you have it under control." Yeah. Because of good people who are willing to share their experience and knowledge! The other good news? I can send my Proposed Order to the judge by email, instead of slogging into downtown in this brutal weather that won't go away. YAY for that! I do have a question for anyone who is familiar with this particular wrinkle. I was sent discovery and rogs, a little over two weeks ago. I plan to send my answers to the rogs in order to avoid the "you didn't deny it, so you admit it" conundrum. But I would much prefer not to get into Discovery, as it could trigger the argument that I've gone too far in the judicial process to now go to JAMS. In addition to what I did when I sent the Motion to Compel to the other party, which was to argue that Discovery is best left for the determination of the JAMS arbitrator, does anyone have any suggestions?

Searching the internet for a way to oppose the Summary Judgement that LVNV has filed against me and hoping that anyone out there can point me in the right direction. Included is the: Motion Notarized copy of Plaintiff's Affidavit in Support of Summary Judgement An account summary generated by LVNV showing that I apparently made regular payments to them between 12/30/2009 and 08/30/2010 A generic Citibank Assignment and Assumption Agreement, Bill of Sale, that does not mention me or the account. An apparenly notorized Affidavit of Transfer from Sherman Originator LLC to LVNV Funding LLC (On this copy, the notary seal cannot be seen, also the signature of this Representative Timothy Orange cannot be seen) 5 pages of some list that starts with a File Name: Sherman BK13 August Citi Final Sale File including my name, address, SSN, account, balance, last pay date, etc. 4 Credit Card statements ranging from July 2004 to May 2007 A notorized copy of Affidavit of Plaintiff's Counsel Exhibit A is my Answers to their Summons and Complaint Exhibit B is the Plaintiff's Requests for Admissions and Interrogatories and Affidavit of Service by Mail Exhibit R1 are the credit card statements again Exhibit C is my Response to Plaintiffs Requests for Admissions and Interrogatories Exhibit D is the Plaintiff's Second Requests for Admissions and Interrogatories and Affidavit of Service by Mail Exhibit E is my Response to Plaintiff's Second requests for Admission and Interrogatories Memorandum of Fact and Law Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order for Judgement and Affidavit of Service by Mail I wish I was able to consult with an attorney on this, but I can't. I'm it. Any suggestions or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Think I posted this in the wrong forum originally, sorry! So I have spent literally 40 hours + reading all the amazing information on this web form (and a couple others) and decided that I am going to start a thread for those of us in Minnesota (pocket docket cluster F) and my experience in particular with Asset Acceptance as well as to ask the community for some help. Cliffs: Old CC that was paid off, they never closed the account after paid in full Didn't catch til almost $1,800 in fees/non-payment penalties etc racked up Fought with Wells offered to pay debt less interest/fees *($900) - denied Sold, sold, sold til it hit Asset Acceptance ( do not recall how many CA's actually owned the debt prior, this is my MRS CC) Summons asking for 7k in debt, plus 2k in legal fees I currently wrote my answer and kept it very simple as I read a lot of people on here get carried away with crazy affirmative defenses and stances that I do not feel the need to prove and end up sticking their own foot up their backside in front of a judge. So basically denied everything in my ANSWER and stated not enough evidence to answer therefore Denied etc (obviously admit name and address etc). So my first question before I have her go to the notary, do I need to add at the end of my denials 'strict proof needed' or some verbiage of the sorts? I feel I do not as my denial is saying just that without actually saying that correct?!?! I should ask for the proof during discovery (even if it gets to that point) Again thanks to all you out there (coltfan,BV70, Racecar etc) as I have ready hundreds of your guys' forum postings! Thanks, Erikrosey p.s. I was served 10/12/13 and have 20 days to respond (don't worry, I will respond in time). I am starting this as more of a how-to/get help along the way from you kind folks!

Just got a second set of Request for Admissions and Interrogatories in the mail today. Request for Admissions 1-8 are requesting that I admit that I resided at my previous address and received mail at my previous address: 1. Admit that in August 2004 you resided at (my preivious address) 2. Admit that in August 2004 you received mail at (my preivious address) 3-8 states the sames thing with the date changed, August 2005, August 2006, May 2007. 9. Admit that between December 2009 and August 2010 you made eight payments to Plaintiff totalling $737.90. 10. Admit that the payments referenced in Request Number 9 (above) were made on an account previously owned by Citibank. 11. Admit that the payments referenced in Request Numbers 9 and 10 (above) were made on an account with an account number ending in 7106. 12. Admit that the Account Statement attatched to the Complaint in this matter as Exhibit A accurately reflects payments made by you on the account referenced in Requests 10 and 11. Interrogatory 1. If your response to any of the Requests for Admission above was anything other than an unequivocal admission, state what you allege to be the facts for each Request denied or otherwise not fully admitted. As always, any suggestions I can take into consideration will be greatly appreciated!