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Quick Question. I am behind the eight ball and late in the game but need some solid input. Upcoming trial in Texas with JDB within 30 days. They have forward flow, bill of sale, affidavits, a couple of individual statements and personal account info extracted from their mass buy. No signed agreement with original creditor and obviously no complete sales agreement for the JDB's mass buy. I did answer complaint with general denial but that is all. Trial is within 30 days and I have yet request discovery. My impression is that I should be asking for things like alleged original credit application, credit card agreement, JDB's sales agreement, etc... I also understand discovery works both ways. The issue is that if I request discovery from the JDB (judge has to approve), they will have 30 days to produce and the trial will be before then so it would be a moot point. So, the primary specific question is: At this point, am I better to... A. Request a continuance from the court to have appropriate time for me to demand discovery, motion to strike affidavit, etc...? or... B. Requesting an extension may be a tactical error and better to go into trial with no discovery on either part and just argue the issues of their lack of those items? I would really appreciate hearing possible Pro's versus Con's. Sincere thanks.

Hello, This forum is great. I've gotten so much great information from here and also wanted to share my progress. I am currently in ligation with a junk debt buyer(JDB) who is suing me for $42K+ in an unlimited civil case in California. Here is the timeline of how everything went down: JDB sent me a letter for the first time on 10/25/2019 It said that they are now the owner of the debt. They stated that the account was charged off on 11/21/2018 and that they're charging 10% annual interest since the charge-off date. They gave me two options on paying the total obligation of $42,xxx which I can either pay monthly over 4 years or pay 80% of it at $34,xxx if I can pay in one lump sum. If I disagree, they said that they may file a lawsuit to seek collection. I have responded back to JDB on 11/05/2019 requesting the following: Debt Buyer's right to seek collection Date of default or last payment Full account number Chain of assignment records JDB responded back with a letter on 11/13/2019 and attached Full account number Bill of Sale between the original credit card issuer and the 2nd owner dated 02/28/2019 Bill of Sale between the 2nd owner and this JDB dated 09/30/2019 JDB(Plaintiff) filed a complaint (lawsuit) filed for Civil – Unlimited for Other Collections on 11/26/2019 First Cause of Action: Breach of Credit Card Agreement Second Cause of Action: Money Had and Received Third Cause of Action: Money Due Court sent a notice of Case Management Conference (CMC) scheduled for 02/06/2020 I've filed my Answer to the Complain on 12/31/2019 I've filed my Case Management Statement on 01/22/2019 Plaintiff’s attorney called me on 1/28/2019 for mandatory ‘meet and confer’ before the Case Management Conference Plaintiff sent me Discovery Requests: Form Interrogatories Special Interrogatories Request for Production of Documents Request for Admission Case Management Conference (CMC) occurred at the court on 02/06/2020 Judge set the Mandatory Settlement Conference date for 9/11/2020 Judge set the Court trial date for 11/09/2020 I've responded to Plaintiff's Discovery Request on 2/19/2020 I've prepared my Discovery Requests and sent below to the Plaintiff on 03/02/2020 Request for Admission Request for Production of Documents Special Interrogatories Due to COVID-19, the court sent a notice that trial date postponed to 05/03/2021 and Mandatory Settlement Conference set for 02/05/2021 Plaintiff filed Motion For Summary Judgment/Adjudication on 07/16/2020 and Hearing was scheduled to 10/15/2020. The following papers were served to me: Memorandum of Points Separate Statement Declaration of JDB's employee Declaration of JBD's attorney Exhibits Credit card agreement Charge-off statement 24 months of monthly statement I've responded with Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication on 09/29/2020 (served with overnight delivery) Memorandum of Points Separate Statement Objections to Plaintiff’s Evidences Declaration of the Defendant Exhibits Bill of Sale (which does not have any specific account numbers) Defendant’s Request for Production of Documents (to show that I've requested for evidence but Plaintiff has failed to produce) Plaintiff filed a reply to my Opposition for MSJ/MSA on 10/08/2020 Response to Defendant's Additional Material Facts in Dispute Reply Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment Court's Tentative Ruling denied Plaintiff's Motion For Summary Judgment/Adjudication Hearing happened on 10/15/2020 Plaintiff’s attorney dialed in to challenge Judge’s tentative ruling. I've dialed into the Hearing as well (due to COVID-19). After hearing arguments from both sides, the Judge took the motion under submission to review the evidences again to make the final ruling Final minutes on 10/19/2020 stated that Motion for Summary Judgment/Adjudication was denied with the following explanation: Plaintiff did not carry its burden(producing admissible evidence) or an assignment of Defendant's debt to Plaintiff Plaintiff's employee (Declarant) didn't declare having personal knowledge of OC and previous assignor's business records As a result, Plaintiff failed to show the existence of a contract between Plaintiff and Defendant or an indebtedness owed by Defendant to Plaintiff Additionally, Plaintiff failed to show an assignment of Defendant's debt to Plaintiff as the Bill of Sale is devoid of any reference to Defendant's credit accounts Even if Plaintiff shifted the burden to Defendant to create a triable issue of material fact, Defendant has successfully done so. ***EDIT: Now the trial is in two weeks, so I am adding some updates to this post. Had the Issue Conference with the Plaintiff's attorney since this needs to be done before 14 days of the trial. Plaintiff is going to add to their Exhibit List an affidavit from the original credit card issuer testifying that the documents (I guess the cardmember's agreement, the monthly statements, and bill of sale) are true. I have requested a copy of this to review because I have not seen this affidavit before. On their Witness List is a representative from Plaintiff's organization. I am planning on objecting to his/her testimony with hearsay. Now, my plan is to prepare Motions of Limine for Plaintiff's exhibits: Credit card agreement Charge-off statement 24 months of monthly statement Bill of Sale between the original credit card issuer and the 2nd owner dated 02/28/2019 Bill of Sale between the 2nd owner and this JDB dated 09/30/2019 New: Affidavit from the original credit card issuer Is there anything else that I should be prepared for? Or am I missing anything? Do you have any tips or advice for the trial (my first time)? I really appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

I have picked these up over the years and would like to post them in one place. Hopefully they will prove as useful for someone else as they have been for me. If you have more stuff like this, please post it to this topic! Some are written by consumer attorneys (Edelman, Combs and the like) and others are written by the attorneys from the dark side as ways to weasel out of FDCPA liability (it's always a good thing to know what the other side is thinking). Pro-Consumer: Defending credit card cases, 2009.pdf Ethical issues of JDB suits.pdf FDCPA CASE LAW, NCLC.pdf FDCPA, Edelman Breakdown-2011.pdf From the dark side: FDCPA Defense Guide #1.txt FDCPA Defense Guide #2.txt

Hi Everybody, I am being sued by Cavalry SPV I, LLC for a Citibank credit card account I defaulted on while I was having a very rough few years (depression, divorce, joblessness, underemployment, homelessness, loss of family member, etc.). Things have turned around since - credit score recovering and thankfully, never had to file bankruptcy. I believe in paying back my debts but Citibank got too greedy and lost me. Had their terms not have kept changing, they'd probably still be reaping the minimum payments off me (that is, of course their whole purpose as an institution?). I had gotten the card while in college to use for emergencies and to build credit. I used the card for about 9 years, usually paying it off entirely but occasionally racking up a big debt following a vacation, for instance, or when I had to buy a new computer, buy a suit for a wedding, etc. I should have known better than to just make the minimum payments on it as the debt never got any smaller. They got greedy and hiked the interest rate from its initial 11.99% or 14.99% to 29.99% suddenly, which was a shock as I had never been late on a payment and was always utilizing below 50% of my limit. I called to see if they could lower it but their response was "that's just how it is - but we can reduce it to 27.99% for a month since you're a valued customer etc". This happened about 3 times. My wife and I separated and I moved back to California where I changed careers and started working freelance resulting in unreliable income and sleeping on couches. My income became too scant to make those minimum payments. After 9-ish years of always paying on time, I defaulted one month. I called Citibank and asked if I could postpone the $250 min payment for a month due to financial difficulty and they simply said no. An overdue paycheck finally landed and I was ready to make that minimum payment but when I logged in to do so, the minimum payment had now jumped to $600 (late fee and previous minimum payment). I defaulted another month and again when I got paid and was keen to make a payment the new minimum had jumped again to a figure that was even further out-of-reach. I called Citibank to see about options I had - whether I needed to close the account or create a repayment plan but they wanted a huge chunk right upfront to even initiated something, plus a commitment to pay another large chunk the next month. I was effectively buried. And meanwhile they kept adding late fees and accruing interest. The amount owed ballooned to a figure nearly double what I had ever spent on the card in the first place. Had I been smarter, maybe I would have tried to get a loan with lower interest to pay off the account or something but the priority of this Citibank thing began to be lower as I started facing some other real problems. It's all been a very valuable lesson on interest rates and credit cards and it's unfortunate I wasn't able to keep paying it before they sent it to collections. Cue the sad violins. I've been reading tons of posts and am hoping to beat this. Here's my answers to the standard questions - I hope to get all my questions answered as well as keep you all posted on how I do... 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Cavalry SPV I, LLC, as Assignee of Citibank, N.A. 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Mandarich Law Group, LLP. 3. How much are you being sued for? ~$8,500. 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Citibank. 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? Los Angeles, CA. 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 3 years, 4 months ago. 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2006. 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 4 years. 13. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? "Pending" 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? 30 days to respond. Did not receive an interrogatory. Here's what they are claiming: Cavalry is the owner of the debt I owed to Citibank and I have to pay them. 1. The damages and money in the sum of [$8,500]; 2. Cost of suit incurred; 3. Other such relief as the Court deems just and proper; 4. Plaintiff remits all damages in excess of the jurisdictional amount of this Court. 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Just statements. Just statements from the OC. Exhibit A: Account Stated (a statement from when I first defaulted); Exhibit B: Open Book Account (a statement from a few months later) That's it. 18. How did you find out about this site? Googled "Sued by Cavalry SPV" After reading a lot of threads, I'm planning on doing a General Denial and asking for BOP. Just wondering, anybody else that is dealing with this (or has before) what did you put on your General Denial form?

Hello everyone, I am being sued by Midland Funding in Georgia and they are being represented by Aldridge, Pite, Haan, llp. I would like to defend myself against this case and hopefully get it dismissed. I was served on August 11th and know I need to file an Answer within 30 days. Any help or advice people can offer is greatly appreciated. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Credit Management, Inc as assignee of CITIBANK, N.A 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? ALDRIDGE,PITE, HAAN LLP 3. How much are you being sued for? 4036 4. Who is the original creditor? CITIBANK, Costco citi visa cc. 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served by local sheriffs office 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? One letter from mail maybe 6 months prior. 9. What state and county do you live in? Georgia 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? Approx 2.5 years 11. What is the SOL on the debt? 6 Years 12. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? Served by deputy sheriff, no action taken or contact with lawyer. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) Yes last year 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? No 15. How long do you have to respond to the suit? 30 days. Served on the 8/11/2020 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? A. Top page of a statement showing the amount owed with my name and address.. B. Bill of Sale And Assignment between citi and mom. C. Costco Fresh Flow Transfer document showing SALE ID. a second page that lists my name, address and amount. Amount on page shows 4100, being sued for 4036?

1st I would like to thank everyone here for these forums because if it weren’t for all of you, I would have hired an attorney (that I cannot afford) or just not show up in court! These forums have helped me A LOT. However, I’m confused on what to do next. Up to this point, I’ve filed my answer denying the debt & also filed a request for production. So far, Midland’s attorney has 2 days left to answer my request. So my question is, what if they don’t comply? I’m confused on what to do next. Do I file a motion to compel or is it possible to ask for a dismissal? Our court date is in 3 weeks. I’m in Ohio. Can anyone please help me with this?

Good afternoon, I am working with a friend (I am asking him to post his own information here this week), and had a question about arbitration on vehicle purchase and financing agreements. I am making this post with his permission. My friend bought a car in 2016 and financed through Santander Consumer USA. Later that year, he had the car repossessed. Car was sold, and my friend owned the balance. The debt was then purchased by a company in Missouri. The filed suit last month and my friend answered within the time allowed. Here is my question - I know the government has a database of credit card agreements - is their a similar DB of car financing agreements? I believe that Santander has an arbitration agreement; however, the exhibit in the lawsuit he showed me only contained the only the first page of the purchase/finance agreement. Any assistance would be appreciated. I know this isn't a JDB credit card case, but it is a JDB case, and my friend needs help. Thank you!

Hello, i hope all is well. I'm writing this post today to ask for advice from anyone that has knowledge about or experience with JDB's or even with Unifund/Kenosian for that matter This past weekend i received this letter in the mail from Kenosian and Miele on behalf of Unifund CCR, LLC. The letter was dated 8/9/2019, today is 8/19/2019. I've been digging through the internet for as much information as possible but i still would like an experienced outside opinion as well. Should i dispute? Should i prepare myself to go to court? I haven't been summoned as of right now but i want to be proactive about this and acquire as much knowledge as possible. This is my first time encountering a JDB and i just want to make sure i'm taking the right precautions before i make any decisions. Thank you for your time. Hope someone can help.

I tried my best to search threads with similar cases but the more I read the more overwhelmed I get. I have learned a lot and the arbitration route I should try and go, but I have a few questions of my own, as well as things I would like to confirm. I really don’t want to mess this up. I don’t know how different New Mexico laws are regarding this compared to the other cases I’ve read like from Texas and Georgia. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Machol & Johannes LLLP 3. How much are you being sued for? $3,803.04 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff): CITIBANK, N.A. 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): In person to my roommate. I was not home. 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? State of New Mexico. County of Socorro. 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations): According to them my last payment was September 6, 2016. 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2015 12. What is the SOL on the debt? 4 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). Suit Served. 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? I have 30 days from the date I was served. According to the summons the date I am considered served is determined by Rule 1-004 NMRA. They gave this to my roommate on April 9, 2019 and I received it that evening. However, the summons is dated March 26, 2019. I did not receive a questionnaire. The only claim I see that they mention is "FIRST CLAIM OF RELIEF (Breach of Contract)" which says I entered an Agreement with CITIBANK, N.A., and they fulfilled it. On November 7, 2016 balance came due and/or charged off due to my failure to tender payment as agreed, the account was assigned and/or sold to PRA, and plaintiff demands judgement in the amount of $3,803.04 plus court costs and such further relief as the court deems proper. 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. They included an affidavit, bill of sale and assignment, one statement from citi, and a card agreement. 18. How did you find out about this site? Google search. Regarding filing my written response, I couldn’t find anything on my court’s website about rules on how to answer a complaint. I did find an Answer to Complaint form on the site that I’m planning to fill out, but I don’t exactly know what I should agree and deny. I’ve read to deny everything and I’ve read to deny everything but your name; should I deny everything except the first statement that states my name, address, and last 2 digits of my ssn? It makes the most sense. Are there any consequences in me denying anything? They say the balance came due and/or the account was charged off on or around November 7, 2016. However, the bank statement they provide states that the payment due date is 12/03/16. Can banks charge off an account before the due date of that last statement? Is this something I should point out in my answer? Maybe in section 3 of the form “I am without sufficient information or knowledge…” or should I just include it with the rest of my denials? There’s a section on the Answer to Complaint form that says WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully request that the Court: Dismiss the Complaint, or in the alternative; Set the matter for a hearing; ___________________________________________, and; Any other equitable relief that the Court deems appropriate. What am I supposed to fill out on C? Regarding filing my Answer and MTC, I’m reading that I should file a Motion to Compel Arbitration WITH my Answer. Is that still a wise choice? Is it ok for me to edit a form taken from the court’s website to add a “Affirmative Defense” section? Is there a sample of this section that I could reference? For the affidavit that needs to be filed along with my MTC, can I reference the card agreement that the lawsuit provided or would this go against my denying everything? I don’t believe I have the original card agreement anymore. Regarding arbitration, The summons says district court and not small claims court, so I should be able to file an arbitration, right? It says on the card agreement whoever files the arbitration pays. Does that still mean that the max I would have to pay is $250 and PRA still might have to pay $5,000? I apologize for any repetitive or similar questions and I really appreciate any help I receive. Thank you.

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Velocity Investments, LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Gurstel Law Firm, P.C. 3. How much are you being sued for? ~$17k 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Prosper 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Informed by my mother that service had been attempted on their house and left on the porch. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Service was in-person, rejected, and left on the porch. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Probably not. The summons was served at my father's house (who shares a similar name, but with whom I do not reside), and was not accepted by anyone in the house. They left the summons on the porch which included details about the debt, with people who were probably not legally allowed to have the information about my debt revealed to them by the plaintiff. I have recently moved to the same county as my father (was out of state before that) and I'm assuming they merely mixed up our identities, but that's where I'm uncertain as to whether or not the service was legal (or even if that matters beyond an FDCA complaint or two if needed). 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? I had never heard of Gurstel Law Firm or Velocity Investments prior to seeing the summons. 9. What state and county do you live in? Utah, Washington County 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Nowhere near outside the statute of limitations. Payment was last made on this account in June of 2017. 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? This was an unsecured loan that was opened in August of 2014. 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years as per current residence in Utah given it is a written contract. Statute of Limitations on Debts 13. What is the status of your case? Suit served? Motions filed? You can find this by a) calling the court or b) looking it up online (many states have this information posted - when you find the online court site, search by case number or your name). Unfortunately I couldn't get much out of the clerk. I know that a claim has been filed as I was provided a case number. 14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) This debt was, "Charged off as bad debt" in June 2017 and also shows, "Purchased by another lender." As of yet there are no collections reported to my TransUnion credit report. 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'). I did not send a debt validation letter as my first contact with the plaintiff was the summons. 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? I have about a week to file my answer to the complaint. It should be noted that my father has already sent a letter disputing this debt as the summons was served at his house using his name as well (our names are very similar, but legally not the same). There are 6 claims made in the complaint (summarized): 1. That the plaintiff is the owner of multiple Prosper Funding, LLC accounts, including my account. 2. That I obtained credit from Prosper in August 2014 3. That I am a resident of Washington County, Utah, or signed the below-described transaction in said county (probably unimportant, but the contract was signed in Maryland) 4. That plaintiff's predecessor loaned me funds that I agreed to repay according to set terms and conditions in a written agreement. 5. That I have breached said written agreement which has defaulted, for $X amount 6. That plaintiff has been assigned all rights to the contract in question. Unsurprisingly, the plaintiff is seeking award of the full sum claimed owed, their costs of Court, and other / further relief as the Court deems proper. Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. No evidence, exhibits, attachments, etc. were included in the summons. Only the complaint. 18. How did you find out about this site? Google search while trying to research the law firm representing the plaintiff and potential attorneys that could help. 18. Read these two links: ✓ Using Arbitration To Defend A Debt Collection Lawsuit ✓ Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits I've spent almost all night on reading through the posts on this forum once I realized the attorney options I found wouldn't actually save me anything (one attorney would have settled it for about $4k less than owed, but they were going to charge $4k in fees when it was all said and done ?). I think there is a *very* strong case for arbitration to be compelled, but I wanted to ensure there weren't other defenses I should try to utilize first. I don't mind this going to arbitration if that is the best chance at a favorable outcome, but I wanted to check with more seasoned veterans to try and double-check that approach first. At the end of the day I honestly don't mind a settlement agreement / repayment plan if needed. My main goals are to try to get this out of court, avoid garnishment, and keep my credit report as clean as I possibly can so that I can take out a VA mortgage again in a few years. TL;DR backstory is that I had a very nasty year+ long divorce/separation that has drained any and all financial resources and resulted in a foreclosed house back in August. I'm looking at a minimum of two years from August before I can get another home loan, but that is considerably faster than having to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy (5-6 years faster). Ultimately I want to keep my credit report clean of collection attempts if at all possible, and I'd be willing to enter a settlement and pay-off plan for this debt if that can happen. I'm not in a place currently to be able to afford an attorney as I'm still paying thousands to my divorce lawyer as quickly as I can, but I can probably budget a decent amount each month towards repayments. However, if those who are more knowledgeable than I think there's a chance I can get this case discharged or dropped somehow by compelling arbitration I am more than willing to see that threat through to the very end and make them spend as much as necessary to get anything out of me. Here are the most relevant phrases regarding arbitration from my copy of the contract from 2014: My question is mainly regarding the administrator and arbitrator fees up to $1,000. If I can compel this to arbitration, do I get slammed with fees beyond that? The verbiage after that seems to protect me from their fees, but I can't quite interpret this part clearly. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this and offer any insight, ideas, or suggestions to help me leverage and jockey for the best position possible regarding this debt. I've been able to pay off and/or settle all other debts that I have and am current on the few other debts that remain. This one is the one final debt I need to figure out how to handle and I'm honestly no sure how to approach it. Sincerely, Shadow Fighter

Because I had a deadline looming, I had my attorney respond to a complaint filed by a JDB’s attorney. I’m going to take things over from here to keep my legal fees to a minimum. I have the Plaintiff’s first set of Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents, and Request for Admissions. I also received a copy of the purchase agreement and bill of sale in response to “Lack of Standing” as my affirmative defense. I read an older string of messages on this site that went into detail about documents that prove the purchase or transfer of ownership from an original creditor to a JDB. Looking at what I was provided, I’m convinced the documents don’t comply with the business record exemption in the rules of evidence on hearsay. Nothing is notarized. There are no affidavits. Here’s what I received: My loan agreements were between [Acme Lending] and me. The JDB claims they purchased the loan from [ABC Lending]. In order to show transfer of ownership from [Acme Lending] to [ABC Lending], they provided a copy of an agreement titled Non-Recourse Receivables Purchase Agreement. The agreement says all receivables existing would be sold and assigned by seller to buyer. When we get into the document they claim transfers ownership from [ABC Lending] to the JDB, they only provided a short, half-page document titled Bill of Sale and Assignment. This is signed by the General Counsel of [ABC Lending]. This document assigns all of rights, title, and interest in and to “certain charged-off accounts” listed on an attached schedule. The only attachment is one line of text that includes the name of the JDB, an account number, my business name, and my name. As I mentioned, neither document/agreement is notarized. There are no affidavits. Here are my starting questions: Should I assume the JDB has additional documentation concerning ownership of the account that has not been furnished to me? Because the Plaintiff has not provided sufficient evidence that their client owns the account in question, do I have the ability to challenge their standing (in the form of a motion or other action) before I have to respond to their interrogatories and provide them with information and documents? I believe they should have to prove ownership of the account before they're entitled to any discovery.

Good Day All, After receiving mail from bankruptcy lawyers about a pending lawsuit I thought to Look Up Cases / Balances in my district. Lucky me own case number and register of actions. Never having been through this I want to be as proactive as possible. This suit will be within the SOL unfortunately. I am being sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC (“PRA” [took forever to figure that abbreviation out]). The attorney listed is Michael J. Olcese. The ROA only lists a few things thus far: · Summ & Comp filed · Summ & Comp By Plantiff Issued · Filling Fee Pad · Check tendered ROA shows a date of 11/9 and as of 11/28 I still have not been served. When can I reasonably expect this to occur, and is there anything that I can do between now and being served? I found a thread with some outstanding content started by bmc100, “Those being sued in Michigan by a JDB, step by step in Defending” but 2012 was years ago. Combine this with the thread, “My experience losing in court (pretrial)” I am left with an unsettling feeling. I must protect my family’s assets to the best of my ability. Last thing I want is a debt from surviving college to set my household back. With that being said, outside of, https://www.bsdd.com/sitefiles/7887/new-guidelines-on-to-draft-the-answer-and-affirmative-defenses.pdf what information can I delve into to start preparing for this. What threads what case law, where do I start? My assumption is I will not have the luck that ‘not_me_ok’ had in obtaining an outright dismissal. In recent history, how often is success realized by the defendant in these cases? I have seen mention of arbitration. Are the courts so favorable to plaintiffs / hostile to defendants that this is the best course of action? My wife went through something like this in 2010 and simply said, “she had no knowledge of the debt” and the case was dismissed. Is it still as simple as saying this? Also I just found this section of the forum and at a quick glance there seems to be some great information that I am completely ignorant to. This will be resolved on the weekend. Also for those of you that made it to the end of this post, thank you for your time and attention. Any and all input is greatly appreciated. Sincerely, OD

Hello, I just received a summons from Cavarly. I would like some advice on how to proceed. I read some old posts regarding filing a motion to dismiss and/or an answer. I would like to see if those older posts from a few years ago still apply in Michigan. Please advise. I appreciate all the help. Thank you.

I was sued by a JDB, and properly filed a MTC arbitration. Before the motion could be heard, the JDB filed for a default judgment. Eventually the MTC was granted. Did the JDB violate the FDCPA by filing for default once they knew I was demanding arbitration?

Hello Folks, While viewing my free credit reports I see that one of the agencies shows Portfolio Recovery Assoc, LLC as in collections. I am in the midst of Warrant in Debt litigation (in Virginia) with PRA on an alleged Capital One credit account. Why do I not see Capital One listed in my credit report? Has PRA completely and/or LEGALLY taken the place of Capital One so that the original debt will no longer be reported with the reporting agencies. Is PRA in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and/or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? Can I now submit that credit report as evidence that the Capital One account has been closed? I have other concerns regarding defending myself in this matter. Looking for a "coach" to walk me through it all. Thanks. Coach Mac

Good Morning, My husband was served in person for a suit against me. I am trying this morning to see if I can find a local attorney to perhaps file all this for me. However I have been reading this site and this is my details. Any recommendations for what I should expect to pay an attorney to do this? I have found a Credit card agreement from Paypal which my card was branded. It does include an arbitration agreement. I have 20 days to file my reply. I was served on the 2nd. So I have 7 days down and of course the weekend is here. So I have to handle this in some way next week. Thank you for any advise. 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding LLC 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) its not a firm but a bunch of lawyers 3. How much are you being sued for? 5070.69 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) SYNCHRONY BANK 5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) They served my husband. I was not home. 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In person, but to my husband. 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? 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 9. What state and county do you live in? Polk County, FL 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 2016 11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2014 12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 4 years Statute of Limitations on Debts 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). Not sure 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 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 17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. They provided a copy of a credit card statement from Synchrony Bank a statement / bill of sale (with redacted part) of them buying the debt.

Can anyone help me with a general denial in California? Being sued by Winn law group for Cavalry LLC. I just don't know what to put in this box on the general denial? I am not outside the statute of limitations. I was planning on fighting that they don't have proof of the debt as they only sent me a couple of old billing statements. What do I write?

Hello, Being sued by Shermeta Law Group in MICHIGAN. Filed my answer, defenses and sworn affidavit of denial on time. Sent my jdb discovery request, 30 days have passed with no response. Followed up with a phone call then a meet and confer letter. JDB sent a settlement offer in the mail which I never responded to soon after receiving my meet and confer letter. Offered to settle for $1000 instead of the original $1886. JDB followed up with a call to then tell me that he doesn't have to respond to my interrogatories request because the judge hasn't started discovery yet. Is this true? The jdb hasn't sent me any interrogatories request only the original summons with nothing attached.

I sent a notice to the plaintiff for written interrogatories, request for production of documents, and request for admissions. This is there responses. SECOND ROUND SUB LLC DEFENDANT’S FIRST SET OF WRITTEN INTERROGATORIES, REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND REQUESTS FOR ADMISSIONS (NOTE: This Document contains Requests for Admissions) DEFENDANT’S FIRST SET OF WRITTEN INTERROGATORIES TO SECOND ROUND SUB LLC Now comes Defendant, pro se, and pursuant to Rules 33 and 34 of the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure propounds the following Interrogatories, Request for Production of Documents, and Requests for Admissions to Plaintiff to be answered within twenty-eight (28) days after the date of service. Plaintiff is under a duty to supplement its responses in accordance with Rule 26 (E). INSTRUCTIONS AND DEFINITIONS 1. Pursuant to Civ. R. 33, 34, and 36, Plaintiff must furnish such information as is known or available to him and such documents which are in his possession or available to him. Plaintiff objects to Defendant's requests to the extent that they intend to impose upon plaintiff obligations greater than those imposed by the Ohio rules of Civil procedure, the local Rules of this court, or any other Orders of this court. 2. Each Interrogatory must be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event the reasons for the objection shall be stated in lieu of an answer. Plintiff reserves all of its evidentiary objections. None of the answers, information, or responses provide herin or pursuant herto shall be construed as any waiver of any objection as to the admissibility into evidence of such answers, information, and/or responses. 3. An evasive or incomplete answer will be deemed a failure to answer under Civ. R. 37. Plaintiff objects to Defendant's requests to the extent that they attempt o invade the attorney-client privilege and/or the attorney work product doctorine. 4. Plaintiff is under a continuing duty to seasonably supplement his responses with respect to any question directly addressed to the identity and location of persons having knowledge of discoverable matters, the identity and location of documents relating to the subject matter of the instant lawsuit, the identity of each person expected to be called as a witness at hearing and/or trial and the subject matter on which the witness is expected to testify. Furthermore, Plaintiff is under a duty to seasonably correct any response that he knows or later learns is incorrect. Plainiff objects to Defendant's request to the extent that they violate Ohio Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)91) in that they seek information or documents not reasonable calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. 5. “Person” means natural persons, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, unions, associations, federations, government agencies, or any other kind of entity. 6. The term “identify” when used herein in connection with natural persons means to state their full names, titles, and job descriptions, if applicable, and their present business and home address. If each person’s present business and home address is not known or available to you, state the last known or available business or home address of each such person or persons. “Person” includes, but is not limited to expert witnesses. 7. The word “identify” when used in reference to a person (as defined above) other than a natural person, means to state (1) its full name; (2) the nature of its organization, including the name of the state in which it was organized; (3) its address(es); (4) the address(es) of its principle place of business, and (5) its principal line(s) of business. If any of the above information is not available to Plaintiff, provide any other available information with or by which such person can be identified. 8. The term “identify” when used herein in connection with documents, or other tangible evidence means to describe these documents, or other tangible evidence, setting forth their dates, titles, authors, addresses, parties, and contents, topics or methods dealt with therein, with reasonable specificity as is sufficient for a particular demand for production. Documents to be identified shall include those documents in your possession, custody, or control and all other documents of which you have knowledge. The term “identify” when used herein in connection with documents that have been filed for record in any public office means to identify as well the date, time, place, filing number and volume and page of recordation or filing, if any. 9. The term “identify” when used herein in connection with oral statements and communications means to describe or summarize the contents of the statements and communications and to (1) state the date and place where they were made; (2) identify each of the speakers and recipients thereof in addition to all the persons present; and (3) indicate the medium of communication (such as by telephone or in person). NOTE: When identifying the date of an oral statement or communication, the precise date must be given. If only an approximate date is given, it will be presumed that you do not recall or have no specific knowledge as to the exact date. 10. The term “documents” when used herein means all original writings of any nature whatsoever, and all non-identical copies thereof, in your possession, custody or control, regardless of where located, and includes but is not limited to contracts, agreements, records, video tapes, tape recordings, correspondence, memoranda, communications, reports, studies, summaries, notes of any kind, bulletins, notices, announcements, instructions, plans and any other documents as defined by, but not limited to Civ. R. 34. In all other cases where originals and/or non-identical copies are not available, “documents” also means identical copies. Further, “documents” also means any information that can be printed or otherwise provided in hard copy from any computer, word processor or similar device. 11. If any such document was, but is no longer in the possession of Plaintiff, or subject to his control, or is no longer in existence, state whether it (1) is missing or lost; (2) has been destroyed; (3) has been transmitted or transferred voluntarily or involuntarily to others, identifying such others; or (4) has been otherwise disposed of. In each such instance, explain the circumstances surrounding the authorization for such disposition and state the date or approximate date thereof. If any of the above information is not available to Defendant, provide any available information with or by which such documents can be identified. 12. “You” or “your” means the Plaintiff and his agents, representatives, investigators, attorneys, and all other persons acting for or on behalf of him. 13. “Date” when used herein shall include the day, month and year of the occurrence to which the interrogatory refers. Plaintiff is to provide the exact date or inclusive dates if known, or if not known, an approximation together with an indication that the date or dates supplied may not be exact. 14. In the event that you have an objection to any of the foregoing Interrogatories or Request for Production of Documents, please: (1) State the nature of the objection; and (2) if the ground is attorney-client privilege or attorney work-product, state the facts relied upon in support of the objection. 15. For all documents withheld for any claimed privilege, please prepare a privileged log for all documents withheld, including the following information: (1) the date of the document; (2) the author of the document; (3) the recipient of the document; (4) the general subject matter; and (5) the privilege asserted. INTERROGATORIES QUESTION 1. State the name, address, phone number, and place of employment of the person answering these interrogatories. ANSWER: (Name) Legal Services Manager for Crown Asset Management, LLC, GA. QUESTION 2: How did DEFENDANT qualify for the credit card she allegedly received, which is the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint? ANSWER: Objection to the form of the question as this request requires a narrative response and is compound. An interrogatory is a simple question in writing rellated to a particular subject that may be answered by a brief categorical answer. Its form and purpose is to correspond to that of a single question at trial. QUESTION 3: With regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint, please provide the names and addresses for each cardholder. ANSWER: My name and previous address, plus my mother's address (which I moved from in 2000, and only used that as a home of record while in the military, but not as my address/residence since 2000). QUESTION 4: Please provide the last four (4) digits of the account number for the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. ANSWER: 1433, Synchrony bank QUESTION 5: Identify and attach hereto each and every Exhibit you intend to introduce at any deposition, hearing and/or trial in this matter. ANSWER: Plaintiff has not identified all documents that it intends to offer into evidence at the trial of this matter and thus reseves the right to supplement this response at a later date. However, Plaintiff may introduce documents attached hereto at the trial of this matter. DEFENDANT’S FIRST REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS REQUEST 1: Please provide copies of all account statements from opening until the present, with regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referenced in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Objection to the form of the question as this request is unduly burdensome. Plaintiff further objects to the extent that the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in 12 CFR 226.25. Likewise the information requested is equally available to the Defendant as the defendant has, or had equal opportunity to retain the requested information. WIthout waiving said Objection, Plaintiff states that it does not currently have in its possession, custody, and control the document associated with this request. However, discovery is ongoing and based on the information currently in its possession, custopdy, and control, the Defendant's Citibank N.A. credit account was opened June 07, 2012, charged off July 08, 2014, and a final payment was made April 09, 2014. Pleas see attached account statements. Plaintiff will supplement this response prior to trial pursuance to the Civil Rules and any scheduling order issued by the court. REQUEST 2: Please provide any and all copies of assignments concerning the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referenced in Plaintiff’s complaint which support Plaintiff’s claims. RESPONSE: Objection to the form of this question as this request is vague, overly broad, and unduly burdensome. Without waiving said objection, please see Bill of Sale date March 18, 2015 and Transfer and Assignment of Assets dates March 18, 2015, attached hereto. REQUEST 3: Please produce any and all contracts between DEFENDANT, or any other cardholder, and ORIGINAL CREDITOR or PLAINTIFF concerning the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Objection to the form of the question as this request is unduly burdensome. Plaintiff further objects to the extent that the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in 12 CFR 226.25. Likewise the information requested is equally available to the Defendant as the defendant has, or had equal opportunity to retain the requested information. WIthout waiving said Objection, Plaintiff states that it does not currently have in its possession, custody, and control the document associated with this request. Plaintiff will supplement this response prior to trial pursuance to the Civil Rules and any scheduling order issued by the court. REQUEST 4: Please provide copies of all cancelled checks from any cash advances made on the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Objection to the form of the question as this request is unduly burdensome. Plaintiff further objects to the extent that the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in 12 CFR 226.25. Likewise the information requested is equally available to the Defendant as the defendant has, or had equal opportunity to retain the requested information. WIthout waiving said Objection, Plaintiff states that it does not currently have in its possession, custody, and control the document associated with this request. Plaintiff will supplement this response prior to trial pursuance to the Civil Rules and any scheduling order issued by the court. REQUEST 5: Please provide copies of all correspondence between ORIGINAL CREDITOR or any other alleged assignee/assignor of the debt and any cardholder with regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Plaintiff objects to this Request as irrelevant. This request is not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence or otherwise beyond the scope of permissible disocovery. REQUEST 6: Please provides copies of all credit card applications submitted by DEFENDANT or any other credit card holder to ORIGINAL CREDITOR with regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Objection to the form of the question as this request is unduly burdensome. Plaintiff further objects to the extent that the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in 12 CFR 226.25. Likewise the information requested is equally available to the Defendant as the defendant has, or had equal opportunity to retain the requested information. WIthout waiving said Objection, Plaintiff states that it does not currently have in its possession, custody, and control the document associated with this request. Plaintiff will supplement this response prior to trial pursuance to the Civil Rules and any scheduling order issued by the court. ADMISSIONS REQUEST 1: Admit PLAINTIFF does not have a copy of the credit agreement signed by DEFENDANT concerning the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Deny REQUEST 2: Admit PLAINTIFF has no documentation showing the assignment of any debt by ORIGINAL CREDITOR for the debt allegedly held by Plaintiff in its complaint. RESPONSE: Deny. See Bill of Sale dated March 18, 2015 and Transfer and Assignment of Assets dated March 18, 2015, attached hererto. REQUEST 3: Admit PLAINTIFF does not have copies of all account statements from opening until the present, with regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Deny. REQUEST 4: Admit PLAINTIFF cannot prove a creditor-debtor relationship between itself and DEFENDANT with regard to the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referred to in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Deny. REQUEST 5: Admit PLAINTIFF cannot prove its claim against DEFENDANT for monies allegedly owed on the ORIGINAL CREDITOR account referenced in Plaintiff’s complaint. RESPONSE: Deny Bill of Sale, states Second Round- PLCC & PSCC C & D Bulk - March 2015. Fir the value recieved and in further consideration of the mutual covenants and conditions set forth in the Receivables Purcase Agreement, dated March 18, 2015, by a and between Synchrony Bank formerly known as GE Capital Retail Bank and Second Round Limitied Partnership and assigns,, without recourse except as sert forth in the Agreement, to the extend of its owner4ship, the Receiveables as set forth in the Notification File (as defined in the Agreement), delivered by Seller to Buyer to such Purchase Date, and as further described in the Agreement. Synchrony Bank Title SVP Collections and Recovery. Transfer and Assignment of Assets. For good valueable consideration, the undersigned, Second Round Limited Partnership, a Texas Limited Partnership, hereby absolutely transfers, assigns, sets-over and conveys to Second Round Sub LLC, without recourse all of assignor's rights, title, and interest in and to each of the assest identified as Exhibit 1 attached hereto, together with the right to collect all principal, interest, or other proceeds or unpaid amounts of any kind with respect to the assets reamining due and owing as of the date below. Second Round Limited Partnership and Second Round SUb LLC signators. My questions, what are my next steps? The Bill of Sale and Transfer and Assignment of Assets does not list the actual accounts they now own. Can I ask the court to dismiss based on this? Second, the person who answered the questions, per Interrogatories Question1, and the person sho signed the documents is not the same person. Lisa, who is a legal services manager for Crown Asset Management (who was never named until this document) and Kathleen, the person who signed all the documents are not even in the same state. So how can two people answer the questions? Lastly, Request for Production, in the answer to question 1, they listed a Citibank, N.A credit account was opned in June 7, 2012 and charged off July 08, 2014. But, this case is a GE Money/Synchrony account. As of right now, discovery needs to be sompleted by 08/07/17 and dispostive and pretrial motions by 09/07/17. Can someone please help me on what my next steps are please.

A Civil Complaint was filed against me by an attorney representing a JDB. They amount the claim I owe is between $6,000-7,000. Because I was up against a deadline, and didn't want to risk a default judgment, I had an attorney prepare an answer for me. It's someone I know, so I felt comfortable going to him. BIG MISTAKE! He talked me out of including the contract's arbitration clause as an affirmative defense because he said I could be held responsible for paying the plaintiff's attorney's fees and arbitration costs if I lose. From what I understand, a consumer is only responsible for paying a $250 fee. The Plaintiff sent over the first set of interrogatories, request for production of documents, and admissions. This is when I told myself I have to take advantage of that arbitration clause. My attorney has since withdrawn himself from the case. I was advised in another forum on this site that I need to file a Motion to Compel Arbitration. I'll post the document I've prepared so far in a separate post. My contract reads, " Any dispute, which cannot be adjudicated within the jurisdiction of a small claims tribunal (including claims transferred by the small claims tribunal to another court) shall be resolved by binding arbitration. " Here's the complete arbitration section: Except as otherwise stated below, any Claim (as defined below) will be resolved by binding arbitration pursuant to (a) this Arbitration Provision and (b) the code of procedure of the national arbitration organization to which the Claim is referred (as in effect when the Claim is filed). Claims will be referred to either Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”) or the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), as selected by the party electing to use arbitration. Streamlined arbitration procedures will be used if available. If a selection by us of one of these organizations is unacceptable to you, you have the right, within 30 days after you receive notice of our election, to select the other organization listed to serve as arbitration administrator. For purposes of this Arbitration Provision, “Claim” means any claim, dispute or controversy (whether in contract, tort, or otherwise) past, present or future, (collectively, "Claims") as further described below. (If for any reason a selected organization cannot, will not or ceases to serve as an arbitration administrator, you or we may substitute another arbitrator or arbitration organization that uses a similar code of procedure and is mutually acceptable to both parties, in accordance with Section 5 of the Federal Arbitration Act. If both parties cannot agree on an arbitration organization, then either party may ask a court of competent jurisdiction to appoint a qualified arbitration organization.) An arbitration proceeding can decide only your or our Claims. You cannot join other parties (or consolidate Claims). Neither you nor we will be permitted to arbitrate claims on a class-wide (that is, on other than an individual) basis. Small Claims Court Option. All parties, including related third parties, shall retain the right to seek adjudication of an individual (and not class or representative) Claim in a small claims tribunal in the county of your residence for disputes within the scope of such tribunal’s jurisdiction. Any dispute, which cannot be adjudicated within the jurisdiction of a small claims tribunal (including claims transferred by the small claims tribunal to another court) shall be resolved by binding arbitration. Any appeal of a judgment from a small claims tribunal shall be resolved by binding arbitration. SIGNIFICANCE OF ARBITRATION; LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS. IN ARBITRATION, NEITHER YOU NOR WE WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO (i) HAVE A COURT OR JURY DECIDE THE CLAIM BEING ARBITRATED, (ii) ENGAGE IN PRE-ARBITRATION DISCOVERY (THAT IS, THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM THE OTHER PARTY) TO THE SAME EXTENT THAT YOU OR WE COULD IN COURT, (iii) PARTICIPATE AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER OF ANY CLASS OF CLAIMANTS IN A CLASS ACTION, IN COURT OR IN ARBITRATION, RELATING TO ANY CLAIM SUBJECT TO ARBITRATION OR (iv) JOIN OR CONSOLIDATE CLAIMS OTHER THAN YOUR OWN OR OUR OWN. OTHER RIGHTS AVAILABLE IN COURT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION. Except as set forth below, the arbitrator’s decision will be final and binding. Only a court may decide the validity of items (iii) and (iv) above. If a court holds that items (iii) or (iv) are limited, invalid or unenforceable, then this entire Arbitration Provision will be null and void. You or we can appeal any such holding. If a court holds that any other part(s) of this Arbitration Provision (other than items (iii) and (iv)) are invalid, then the remaining parts of this Arbitration Provision will remain in force. An arbitrator will decide all other issues pertaining to arbitrability, validity, interpretation and enforceability of this Arbitration Provision. The decision of an arbitrator is as enforceable as any court order and may be subject to very limited review by a court. An arbitrator may decide any Claim upon the submission of documents alone. A party may request a telephonic hearing if permitted by applicable rules. The exchange of non-privileged information relevant to any Claim, between the parties, is permitted and encouraged. Either party may submit relevant information, documents or exhibits to the arbitrator for consideration in deciding any Claim. Right to Opt-Out of Arbitration. You may opt-out of this Arbitration Provision. If you do so, neither you nor we will have the right to engage in arbitration. Opting out of this Arbitration Provision will have no effect on any of the other provisions in this Agreement. To opt out of this Arbitration Provision, we must receive your written notice of opt-out, within 60 calendar days after we approve your Loan, at Account Services Dispute Resolution, P.O. Box 77081, Atlanta, GA 30357; ATTN: Arbitration. In your letter, you must give us the following information: Name, Address and Loan number. The right to opt-out granted here applies solely to this Arbitration Provision and this Agreement, and not to any other provision of this Agreement or to any other Loan or other agreement with us. In the event of a dispute over whether you have provided a timely opt-out notice, you must provide proof of delivery. Broad Meaning of "Claims." The term "Claims" in this Arbitration Provision is to be given the broadest possible meaning and includes (by way of example and without limitation) Claims arising from or relating to (i) this Agreement, (ii) any transactions effected pursuant to this Agreement, (iii) terms of or change or addition of terms to this Agreement, (iv) collection of your obligations arising from this Agreement, (v) advertisements, promotions or oral or written statements relating to this Agreement or any transactions between us pursuant to this Agreement, including any Claims regarding information obtained by us from, or reported by us to, credit reporting agencies or others, (vi) Claims between you and us or our parent corporations, wholly or majority owned subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessors, successors, assigns, agents, independent contractors, employees, officers, directors or representatives arising from any transaction between us pursuant to this Agreement and (vii) Claims regarding the validity, enforceability or scope of this Arbitration Provision or this Agreement including but not limited to whether a given claim or dispute is subject to arbitration. Arbitration Procedure and Costs. For a copy of relevant codes of procedure, to file a Claim or for other information about JAMS and AAA, write them, visit their web site or call them at: (i) for JAMS, 1920 Main Street, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92614, info@jamsadr.com, http://www.jamsadr.com, or 1-800-352-5267; or (ii) for AAA, 1633 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10019, websitemail@adr.org, http://www.adr.org, or 1-800-778-7879. If either party fails to submit to arbitration following a proper demand to do so, that party will bear the costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, incurred by the party compelling arbitration. Any physical arbitration hearing will be held in the federal judicial district selected by Merchant. No matter which party initiates the arbitration, we will advance or reimburse filing fees and other costs or fees of arbitration. Each party will initially be responsible for its own attorneys’, experts’ and witness fees and related costs and expenses. Unless prohibited by law, the arbitrator may, applying applicable law, award fees, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses to the party who substantially prevails in the arbitration. The allocation of fees and costs relating to an appeal in arbitration will be handled in the same manner. For an explanation and schedule of the fees that may apply to an arbitration proceeding, please contact the organizations at the addresses above. The appropriate fee schedule in effect from time to time is hereby incorporated by reference into this Arbitration Provision. The cost of arbitration may be higher or lower than the cost of bringing a Claim in court, depending upon the nature of the Claim and how the arbitration proceeds. Having more than one Claim and holding a physical arbitration hearing can increase the cost of arbitration. Governing Law for Arbitration. This Arbitration Provision is made pursuant to a transaction involving interstate commerce, and will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq., as amended, notwithstanding any other governing law provision in this Agreement. The arbitrator will apply applicable substantive law consistent with the FAA and applicable statutes of limitations and will honor claims of privilege recognized at law. Judgment upon any arbitration award may be entered and enforced in any court having jurisdiction. The arbitrator’s decision will be final and binding, except for any right of appeal provided by the FAA, in which case any party can appeal the award to a three-arbitrator panel administered by the selected arbitration administrator. The panel will reconsider de novo (that is, without deference to the ruling of the original arbitration) any aspect of the initial award requested by the appealing party. Continued Effect of Arbitration Provision. This Arbitration Provision will continue to govern any Claims that may arise without regard to any termination or cancellation of this Agreement. If any portion of this Arbitration Provision (other than the provisions prohibiting class-wide arbitration, joinder or consolidation) is deemed invalid or unenforceable under the FAA, it will not invalidate the remaining portions of this Arbitration Provision. If a conflict or inconsistency arises between the code of procedures of the selected arbitration administrator and this Arbitration Provision, this Arbitration Provision will control. I need some guidance though the process of filing a MTC Arbitration, appearing in court on the motion, and (hopefully) initiating arbitration through JAMS. Thank you in advance for your help and advise.

1. who is the named plaintiff in the suit? MIDLAND FUNDING 2. what is the name of the firm handling the suit? 3. how much are you being sued for? 4. who is the original creditor?(if not the plaintiff) DILLARDS 5. How do you know you are being sued? (you were served, right?) YES I WAS SERVED IN PERSON 6. how were you served? IN PERSON 7. was the service legal as required by your state law? YES 8. what was your correspondence (if any) by the people suing you before you think you were being sued? I FOUND AN OLD LETTER BUT FROM ASSET BEFORE MIDLAND BOUGHT THEM (NONE THAT I CAN RECALL FROM MIDLAND FUNDING) 9. what state and county do you live in? MARICOPA COUNTY-ARIZONA 10. when is the last time you paid on the account? (looking to establish if you are outside the statue of limitations) FROM LOOKING AT A CREDIT REPORT IT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE 07/11 OR 11/11 11. What is the statue of limitations on the debt? ALTHOUGH IT WAS A STORE CREDIT CARD (I COULD ONLY USE IT AT DILLARDS) I BELIEVE IT IS 6YRS 12. what is the status of your case? suit served? motion filed? I HAVE NOT FILED MY ANSWER YET I AM STILL WITH IN THE 20 DAYS TO DO SO ...WHICH IS WHY I AM HERE LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE 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? NO 15. how long do you have to response to suit? 20 CALENDER DAYS FROM THE DAY I WAS SERVED 16. what evidence did they send with the summons? an affidavit? statements from the oc? contract? list anything they attached as exhibits. NO, THEY DID NOT ATTACH ANYTHING ALL I GOT WAS A SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT. Here are the allegations. 1. plaintiff is a foreign entity, 2. defendant is are husband and wife and reside in Maricopa county,az (goes into our state being a community state etc) if the debt is pre-marital debt, the non debtor spouse is joined only as a necessary party pursuant (I am not married) 3. the court has subject matter and personal jurisdiction. 4. all pertinent acts and omissions giving rise to this lawsuit occurred in Maricopa county,az. 5. all conditions precedent to plaintiff rights of recovery have occurred. 6. by accepting and using an offered extension of credit, defendant entered into a credit agreement with GE CAPITOL RETAIL BANK DILLARD S under account number ending in XXXX (they actually provided ending numbers) and agreed to the applicable terms and conditions of that credit agreement (the "debt"). Plaintiff is the successor-in-interest ("Holder") of the Debt. 7. Defendant(s) (is)(are) in default under the terms of the Debt. The present amount owned under the terms of the Debt, after all setoffs, is $904.81 8. Despite demand to do so, Defendant (s) (has)(have) failed to pay the amount owed. 9. the acts and omissions of Defendant(s) constitute a breach of contract. The Holder has been damaged thereby. WHEREFOR, Plaintiff prays as follows: 1. For Judgment against the Defendant(s) in the sum of the principal balance of $904.81, minus any payments made; 2. For cost incurred herein; and 3. For such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper. PLEASE HELP...I have read so many different things on the post that I am confused as to how to approach this. I have seen people say Arbitration is the only route to go, My case is in civil court since the amount is less than 10k. I have read that if I am choosing arb I should 1. mail a letter to the attorney 2. then file my answer denying jurisdiction with a copy of the letter I sent (I do not have a copy of the credit card agreement so would I need to wait for the attorney to send me a copy?) 3. after filing my answer I should wait for 2 things to happen? 1. they need to give me a copy of the agreement 2. they need to deny arbitration or ignore my letter? if I get a refusal to arbitrate response from the attorney do they HAVE to give me a copy of the agreement?? If they DO NOT give me a copy how do I proceed? Again I am really new to this I have been reading every article I can so I have some knowledge (nothing great) on what the process is.. I do not know how I could use this but I read the CFPB took action against Midland Funding and there is a consent order on them in the article it calls for having Midland Funding go on the record as to the steps they took to validate the information on the account prior to submitting the lawsuit (if you google John Skiba a debt lawyer in az and go to his website and click on the blogs-it was posted on sept 9 2015 under the title "MIDLAND FUNDING AND PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES SLAMMED BY CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREA) PLEASE IF ANYONE CAN HELP OR PROVIDE GUIDANCE IT WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! MY 20 DAYS ARE CLOSING FAST AND I DO NOT WANT TO GO THE WRONG PATH. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

I recently received a Summons and Complaint that I need to respond to. It was filed by the attorney of a JDB. Here are their edited down allegations. I don't know if my answers should simply be "denied" or if I should provide any details. My spouse and I are the owners of a particular business. Answer: Denied. (It's a Sole Proprietorship and I am the sole owner. ) Defendants entered into a series of loan agreements with the original creditor Answer: Denied Defendants breached the terms of the loan agreements. Answer: Denied (The complaint does not specify a particular loan number or agreement they claim was breached. ) The original creditor assigned all rights, title, an interest in the loans to Plaintiff. Answer: Denial of Knowledge or Information (Should I change this to "Denied"? Plaintiff has not furnished any documents establishing standing to bring any action. In addition, the name of the original creditor is different from the name of the bank on the loan agreement.) That as a result of the breach, Defendants owe the Plaintiff $____________. Answer: Denied My Defenses Plaintiff filed in Circuit Court. The loan agreements include a small claims court option that says disputes may be adjudicated in small claims court. Otherwise, they must be resolved by binding arbitration. In arbitration, neither party has the right to have a court or jury decide the claim being arbitrated. Also, neither party can engage in pre-arbitration discovery. Plaintiff has not specified which loan agreement(s) has been breached. The Plaintiff's complaint states I breached the terms of the loan agreements. There were several individual loan agreements. The Plaintiff does not indicate which specific loan agreement they claim was breached . Plaintiff's Standing When I received a collection notice from the Plaintiff's attorney earlier this year, I responded with a request for validation of the debt and also asked for documentation establishing their client's ownership of the account. They sent me copies of several loan documents and did not address the ownership issue. 30-Day Dispute Period Included with Summons and Complaint - The Summons and Complaint were accompanied by a sheet of paper that includes 15 USC 1692, the right to dispute the validity of all or any portion of the debt within 30-days. I already disputed the debt when I received a collection notice from the Plaintiff's attorney earlier this year. Because this "dispute period" was included with the paperwork I was served with, I'm assuming I should send them another letter to dispute the debt. I can definitely use some feedback about the wording of my responses. Also, in addition to responding to their claims, is it premature for me to ask them to respond to issues regarding proper venue, specific loan agreement information, and Plaintiff's standing?

I have edited this post to include this introductory statement because there's a lot here and I feel it's important to read through this saga knowing ahead of time how it will end. You will see how much work and attention to detail I gave this case but it was not enough to come out on top. I lost in Justice Court when the Plaintiff filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (MSJ) and was unable to get the appellate court to reverse the lower court's ruling. Here is the thread for my appeal: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/323330-arizona-lost-to-cavalry-on-msj-also-lost-on-appeal/ I have learned several things along the way. The most significant one is that in most cases, there is no "absolute" way a Justice Court judge has to rule on evidence. He can rule one way on admitting certain evidence and another judge can rule the exact opposite way. If both cases went to appeal, the appellate court can rule that neither judge committed error. To wit, winning in Arizona is mostly luck of the draw and as time marches on, good luck seems to be evermore diminishing . The reason for this is because appellate courts in AZ (and most other places) review the admission of evidence for an "abuse of discretion". This means they are not looking for a specific outcome with the admission of evidence (admitted or rejected), but instead are looking for something to indicate the judge had a basis for his decision. Furthermore, if there is nothing on the record that shows the judge had no basis for his ruling, the appellate courts usually won't assume facts that aren't there. This means the evidence itself must be lacking some fundamental element in order to have the appellate court reverse the Justice Court decision. The next important thing I learned is that there is a case here in Arizona named Parker that appeals courts have been applying to JDB lawsuits. Parker says that a witness can testify about business records even if that witness did not create the records or has no knowledge of the person that created them or the manner in which they were created. The way this is being applied to JDB lawsuits is an employee of a JDB can testify about your credit card statements even though the JDB's employee has never seen the records before reviewing them in preparation of giving her testimony. The only criteria for giving this testimony is that the testimony must state 1.) the witness is a custodian of the JDBs records; 2.) the witness has reviewed the records being introduced (and specifically identifies them); 3.) the records were incorporated into the JDBs own records; and 4.) the JDB relied on the records in its normal course of business. If all 4 of those things are present in the witness testimony (or affidavit on MSJ), the Justice Court is free to admit the evidence and the appellate court won't reverse that decision on objections of hearsay or lack of foundation. This doesn't mean the evidence admission cannot be reversed based on some fundamental defect with the evidence itself, however. Examples of this would be a date that doesn't match up with other dates or dollar amounts among the records are discrepant with no rational explanation. It's YOUR job to raise these questions with the lower court. If you don't address them with the lower court, the appellate court won't consider them on appeal. The last important thing I learned is that JDBs are now entering into 'capped legal fee' agreements with their attorneys. This means that the lawyer agrees to represent the JDB for a modest fee if the defendant does not contest the lawsuit (including defaults) and then a maximum amount the JDB will pay on contested lawsuits. In my own case the cap was set at $1,500. The lawyer submitted an affidavit that they spent over $11,000 in time, but stated that due to 'contractual arrangements' they could only charge $1,500 of that to Cavalry. The significance of this is that a few years ago, if a defendant contested the lawsuit and started running up the JDB's legal tab, the JDB would be more inclined to drop the case and walk away. Now, when they know they will spend no more than $1,500, once they reach that $1,500 limit (right around the 2-3 month mark of the lawsuit when discovery takes place), they have no incentive to back down. It will cost the JDB the same to litigate the case all the way to trial and beyond (I appealed and Cavalry never paid more than $1,500) as it would to settle the case once the cap is reached. The cautionary tale here is that JDBs (at least here in AZ) have figured out exactly what they need to do in order to keep a Justice Court decision in their favor from getting reversed. My philosophy is to do whatever you can to keep the Arizona Court System from deciding your fate on a debt collection lawsuit. At this time, the most effective way to do that is via arbitration. There is an arbitration forum here on CIC. I suggest asking for advice there. Also, here is an example of how arbitration was used in Arizona to beat a JDB: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/community/topic/326349-retired-and-being-sued-by-unifund/ Here is a Justice Court Appeals Ruling discussing the use of arbitration in debt collection cases. http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Lower Court/082016/m7481002.pdf Update 12-21-2015: The CFPB smacked Midland and Portfolio Financial Services (PFS) pretty hard in a consent order earlier this year. You can read the details here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-the-two-largest-debt-buyers-for-using-deceptive-tactics-to-collect-bad-debts/ The reason this is significant is some of the Justice Courts here have reconsidered how they are treating Midland and PFS when consumers contest the lawsuits they bring. This is from a Justice Court case that was reversed on appeal: http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Lower%20Court/102015/m7064645.pdf There have been a couple reports of the Justice Courts taking it upon themselves to reject the evidence, even when the defendant doesn't raise the issues of the CFPB findings. Of course, if you are sued by Midland or PFS, certainly address the CFPB findings when objecting to summary judgment or at trial when Midland/PFS tries to introduce their evidence. Update 04-06-2016: It seems the Justice Court appellate court has had a change of heart: http://courtminutes.maricopa.gov/docs/Lower%20Court/022016/m7204120.pdf Ok, on to my story.

Well we all know why I am here lol. Got summons and I visited 3 lawyers and determined I can not pay their price. I turned to google and filed my answer within my 30 days. I was sent a notice a week later to be at court Oct 12, 2016 9am. The same day I got this court notice I was summons from LVNV and did the same with them. Filed my answer and yesterday I got a request for admissions and production from LVNV (made a new thread for them). I am curious as to why PRA has not sent me a discovery yet. Can I still file a motion to dismiss? Summons came with complaint Affidavit -employee of PRA ;ordinary course of business ; account having been sold and transferred on 10/21/2015 ; Bill of sale and Assignment -dated 10/21/2015 ; purchase and sale agreement dated 12/19/2014 between buyer and bank, bank transfer and sells grants and bargains set over to deliver to buyer the Accounts described in Exhibit 1 (not attached) and the final electronic file. -?- did they purchase this on 10/21/2015 or 12/19/2014 Card Statement and terms Department of Defense Manpower Data Center sheet Thank you