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Hi all, I really wish I had come across this site sooner than my deadline (tomorrow) to respond to the interrogatories, production, and admissions because I would have been able to sift through more responses here. Would anyone be willing to review what I have answered (many from this site, thanks!) and help with some answers that I have left out? I lost some steam and ideas to respond with around #8. I've "beat" the rent a lawyer from this office once in small claims and had a case dismissed but this one is large enough to be in Civil Court and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot so to speak. STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT ) CIVIL DIVISION WASHINGTON UNIT ) DOCKET NO. Wncv ) Name ) Defendant, ) ) v. ) ) PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC ) Plaintiff DEFENDANTS RESPONSE TO FIRST INTERROGATORIES, REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS, AND REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS Defendant, (name), pro per, pursuant to V.R.C. P 33 and 34 responds to first request within thirty (30) business days of service. INTERROGATORIES Identify the person(s) who prepared and or assisted in any way defendant's answers to these interrogatories. Answer: Myself, (named) 2. State your full name, current address, and work address. Answer: Stated name, current address, OBJECTION: The information sought is improper as it goes toward post judgment remedies. 3. For each response to Plaintiff's request for Admission that is other than an unqualified admission, identify each fact to support defendant's denial or other response, identify each person who witness or otherwise has knowledge of such facts, and identify each document evidencing, constituting or otherwise relating to such facts. Answer: OBJECTION: Defendant's responses will be adequately detailed in the answer to the plaintiff's request for Admission. Defendant is not required to refute the plaintiff's claims; the plaintiff is required to prove them. 4. Identify all persons with whom defendant has communicated with relating to the subject matter of this litigation and the subject matter of any such communication. Answer: OBJECTION: relevancy to the litigation. 5. Identify any individual that the defendant is aware that has knowledge of the facts and circumstances of this case. Answer: OBJECTION: relevancy to litigation. 6. If you have lawsuits pending in which you are either a plaintiff or defendant, kindly state the following for each, name of lawyers, parties, nature of claim, date of incident, status of case where (name of court) suit is pending; any lawsuits against you personally, include all details; any payments to other creditors by defendant, details of dates and amounts, whether under other court orders and whether you have ever filed bankruptcy. Answer: OBJECTION: relevancy. Defendant is not aware of any lawsuits currently pending and has not filed bankruptcy. 7. Kindly list each and every address wherein you reside from Jan 1 2006 to the present. Answer: Defendant provides the following addresses: (listed) 8. Please list each and every person who you authorized to use with is the subject matter of this litigation, state whether you gave that person possession of your credit card Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522, list that date that you revoked that persons authorization to use the credit card account. Answer: 9. If you claim that you filed a written dispute with Plaintiff, about any items appearing on your monthly billing statements, please provide the date that you sent the written dispute; the address that you sent your written dispute to; a description of you dispute; the name of the person or entity that you sent your dispute to; whether you received a response to the written dispute; and what the outcome of your dispute was. Answer: OBJECTION: the lack of any objection by a defendant does not prove the plaintiff's case of Account Stated. 10. If there are any payments which you allege you have not been credited for, please list each payment by date, amount, and payee. Answer: At this time defendant is not aware of any uncredited payments. 11. If you claim that you are not responsible for the amount claimed in the Plaintiff’s complaint, please identify the person or entity that you feel should be responsible for paying the amounts charged to your credit card account. Answer: DENIED to the extent that payments to the original creditor, the ACCOUNT, are immaterial to the extent that it has no bearing on the instant action, the purpose of which is to establish that Portfolio Recovery now owns said account and is supposedly entitled to collect, a fact which is yet unproven. 13. Please state all the facts supporting each defense that you are not responsible for the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522 balance upon which the plaintiffs claim is based. Answer: DENIED to the extent that payments to the original creditor, the ACCOUNT, are immaterial to the extent that it has no bearing on the instant action, the purpose of which is to establish that Portfolio Recovery now owns said account and is supposedly entitled to collect, a fact which is yet unproven. 14. Please identify all documents,, correspondences business entries, or other writing that you will be relying on for you defense of this claim. Answer: DENIED, as stated, above, to the extent that payments to the original creditor, the ACCOUNT, are immaterial to the extent that it has no bearing on the instant action, the purpose of which is to establish that Portfolio Recovery now owns said account and is supposedly entitled to collect, a fact which is yet unproven 15. If you will be relying upon any verbal communication for your defense of this case, please provide concise statement of the substance of each such verbal communication and state the name and address of the person making such statement. In your answer indicate what that person(s) connection is to the Plaintiff and/or to defendant. Answer: Defendant does not have a record of verbal communication at this time. 16. If you dispute any of the charges to Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522, which is the subject matter of this lawsuit, please identify each charge, the amount of the charge, and explain why this is not owed to the Plaintiff for these charges. Answer: DENIED to the extent that payments to the original creditor, the ACCOUNT, are immaterial to the extent that it has no bearing on the instant action, the purpose of which is to establish that Portfolio Recovery now owns said account and is supposedly entitled to collect, a fact which is yet unproven 17. If you dispute the interest rate to Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522, which is the subject matter of this lawsuit, please identify the disputed interest rate, the first date that the defendant disputed the interest rate, why the defendant believes the interest rate should be different, and what the defendant feels the correct balance due is with calculated interest. 18. If the defendant disputes the over limit charges please explain, identify and itemize all of the over the limit charges that are to be disputed for the Synchrony Bank Walmart Credit card account ending in 0522 ending in 2183. 19. If anyone investigated this matter for you, state their names, address, and state whether such investigation was reduced to writing. If said investigator obtained any signed statement or recorded statement, identify the person who gave the statement and give a brief synopsis of the statement. 20. Do you receive any exempt income? 21. Are you employed? If yes please provide the average weekly or bi weekly salary. 22. Do you own real estate? If yes please provide the form of ownership (Tenants by the Entirety, Trust etc) 23. If the defendant owns real estate in any form please provide the amount of equity that the defendant has in the real estate. 24. Please identify each individual that you intend to call as a witness in this action and please provide a brief description of the nature of their testimony. 25. Please identify any and all expert witness the defense intends to call and please provide a brief description of the nature of their anticipated testimony. REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION Identify and produce copies of documents that show use of and payments made on Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available. 2. Identify and produce copies of documents that provide payments made on Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. If in the form of a check please produce copies of all checks used to make payments on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. If in the form of a money order please produce copies of all money orders used to make payments on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. If payments were made electronically over the phone and authorized EFT and /or ACH payments please produce copies of Bank Statements evidencing payments made on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 3. Identify and produce any documents that relate in any way to any dispute as to charges, account balance, over the limit fees, late payment fees, and interest rates on purchase and/or cash advances pertaining to the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 4. Identify and produce any documents relative to Request 3. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 5. Identify and produce all documents that are admissible to show that defendant is not liable to the Plaintiff for the amount of the damages the Plaintiff claims for Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 6. Identify and produce each and every document related to defendants source of exempt income if any. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 7. Identify and produce documents that relate in any way to any witnesses Defense intends to call to testify at trial. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 8. Identify and produce all documents that Defense intends to use at trial. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available 9. Identify and produce a copy of a Deed to any real property that the Defense owns. Defendant has no such documents in nirs possession at this time. Defendant reserves the right to amend nirs responses per the rules of civil procedure if such documents become available REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS That the defendant obtained a credit card from Synchrony Bank walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 1: DENIED to the extent that no application was attached hereto for evaluation. 2. That defendant has not disputed having Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 2: DENIED to the extent that no admissible evidence establishing use of the unproven account was provided for evaluation. 3. That defendant currently resides at 182 VT. NO. 3: DENIED. The address provided in the request is not the defendant's address. Defendant’s address has been correctly provided in the Interrogatory. 4. That defendant previously resided at VT. NO. 4: ADMITTED. Defendant previously resided at VT 5. That defendant received the notice from the original creditor Synchrony Bank that Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522 was sold to Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC on 6/22/17. The notice is dated Jun 30 2017 NO. 5: DENIED. 6. That the defendant used and made payments on a Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 6: Admitted in part to the extent that no liability for any such payment has been established, therefore no payment is required. DENIED in part to the extent that Plaintiff has produced no admissible evidence establishing ownership or liability. 7. Each month received monthly billing statements credit card account for defendants Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending 0522 at the address of VT 05602 and (address). NO. 7: OBJECTION No admissible evidence was attached hereto which would allow defendant to make an informed response. 8. The monthly billing statements show a monthly credit transaction on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 8: OBJECTION No admissible evidence was attached hereto which would allow defendant to make an informed response. 9. The monthly billing statements also shows the accumulated balance due on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 9: OBJECTION No admissible evidence was attached hereto which would allow defendant to make an informed response. 10. The monthly billing statement shows the interest charged on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. NO. 10: OBJECTION No admissible evidence was attached hereto which would allow defendant to make an informed response. 11. That defendant never sent a written dispute to the Plaintiff concerning any items appearing on the monthly billing statements for the account Synchrony bank walmart credit card account ending in 0522. 12. Defendant did not protest any items appearing on the monthly billing statements for the Synchrony bank walmart credit card account ending in 0522 because defendant (is accused) to be responsible for the use of the account and the amount due and owing. 13. That there are no payments made by you or anyone else on your behalf for which the Plaintiff did not credit the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. 14. You were making payments, but at some point you stopped making your monthly payments on the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522. 15. Your last payment on your Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522 was on January 12, 2016 in the amount of $158 16. You never made another payment after January 12, 2016 17. That you owe the amount claimed in the Plaintiff's complaint, $6098.78 plus costs. 18. That there are no disputed material facts requiring a trial. 19. That you admitted being the card holder of the Synchrony Bank Walmart credit card account ending in 0522 in the answer to the complaint.

Here is my questionnaire info. 1.. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Cavalry SPV I 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) 3. How much are you being sued for? 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?) Served summons 6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In person, via process server at 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? Arkansas, Pulaski County 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) 2013 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: Not positive but I think 3 years 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). Waiting for Plaintiff to respond to my discovery requests. Complaint filed early May 2015 I was served late May 2015 Answer filed early June 2015 (within the 30 days)(served with Plaintiff and filed with court) Received Plaintiff's RFA, interrogatories, and request for documents mid June; replied three weeks later (responses served with Plaintiff and filed with court) Served my RFA, interrogatories. and request for documents late July; response time will expire this week - no responses yet (served with Plaintiff; RFA filed with court) Served an amended Answer early in August (served with Plaintiff and filed with court) Served a Motion to Strike Affidavit/Exhibits early in August; the 10 day time period for Plaintiff to respond has expired (served with Plaintiff and filed with court) Court has not yet set any hearings or trial date. No action on my motions yet. 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) OC never listed debt with CRA; plaintiff did. Disputed. 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. No; they never sent me anything prior to filing the lawsuit 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? My answer, amended answer, and responses to RFA/discovery have all been filed timely 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Affidavit of Claim notarized March 2017, Assignment/Bill of Sale dated September 2016, an account statement dated April 2014, and terms and conditions dated May 2016 I really appreciate any guidance on how to proceed. Since the time has expired for the Plaintiff to respond to my Motion to Strike, should I expect the court to rule on this within in 30 days? Also, should I file a Motion to Admit my RFA if I don't receive a response within the 30 days allowed by Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure? The response to my other discover is due the same date as the response to my RFA. If I understand it, I need to show good faith effort to resolve the discovery request prior to filing a Motion to Compel; should I send a separate letter after 30 days, asking for a response, and then file a Motion to Compel after a few weeks? I am expecting no Plaintiff response to my discovery requests. If it is helpful, I can post heavily redacted versions of my various pleadings and motions.

In question is a debt of $12,000 from an old Citibank card charged off July 2012, junk collector Cavalry SPV is now pursuing me. Case is ongoing in my municipality in Ohio. I have answered all of their requests and interrogatories and attended a pre trial conference May 2. I believe I caught them offguard as they assigned a new local lawyer that very morning. At the Pretrial I denied everything and the Cavalry Lawyer kept badgering me for my birthdate and social security, I simply stated you guys should already have this and know who I am. Long story short, the Judge asked Cavalry as to where is the signed contract? The Cavalry attorney pulled out 100’s of pages of statements, 4 years worth showing my name. The Judge smirked and asked, again, where is the signed contract to show the defendant is the owner, the Cavalry Attorney sat silent. To which the Judge scheduled yet another pre-trial in June. Being a novice pro se, I immediately the next day filed a request for production, the first request was to “produce any credit application signed by the defendant”. Today I did indeed receive a response to my request that states, “Objection the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in CFR 226.25 Plaintiff states that it is not in possession of any document which may be responsive to this request.” So now my question is, do I wait for the next pretrial and see what the Judge says, or in the meantime file a more definitive motion? Their evidence is 4 years of credit card statments from 2008-2012. Card charged off July 2012. I highly doubt they are in possession of any signed contract, whether it be physical or electronic. What is the best course of action?

In question is a debt of $12,000 from an old Citibank card, junk collector Cavalry SPV is now pursuing me. I have answered all of their requests and interrogatories and attended a pre trial conference May 2. I believe I caught them offguard as they assigned a new local lawyer that very morning. At the Pretrial I denied everything and the Cavalry Lawyer kept badgering me for my birthdate and social security, I simply stated you guys should already have this and know who I am. Long story short, the Judge asked Cavalry as to where is the signed contract? The Cavalry attorney stated here is 100’s of pages of statements, 4 years worth showing plaintiffs name. The Judge (luckily a notorious anti-junk debt judge) again, smirked and asked, again, where is the signed contract to show the defendant is the owner, the Cavalry Attorney sat silent. To which the Judge scheduled yet another pre-trial in June. Being a novice pro se, I immediately the next day filed a request for production, the first request was to “produce any credit application signed by the defendant”. Today I did indeed receive a response to my request that states, “Objection the request calls for the production of documents in excess of the two year record retention period set forth in CFR 226.25 Plaintiff states that it is not in possession of any document which may be responsive to this request.” So now my question is, do I wait for the next pretrial and see what the Judge says, or in the meantime file a more definitive motion ? Their evidence is 4 years of credit card statments from 2008-2012. Card charged off in 2012. What is the best course of action?

Wow. From the Affidavit of Richard A. Posner, Esq., recently retired after more than 35 years as an Article III judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, including a seven-year term as the court’s chief judge: https://www.scribd.com/document/361959492/Motion-for-Richard-A-Posner-to-be-Designated-as-Advisory-Counsel-in-CA-4-case-No-17-1955 "6. I have decided to dedicate my post-judicial career to helping pro se litigants."

Introduction: Sued by JH Debt Portfolio Equities, LLC (JDB2), debt purchased from Oliphant Financial, LLC (JDB1) whom purchased from OC (Capital One) Account and Debt are unknown to me (Pro Se Defendant) Responded to Petition with General Denial and Special Exceptions, requested Disclosures from Plaintiff (required multiple additional requests to comply to get documents) Responded to Plaintiff's Request for Admission with Denials. Current Delimma: Plaintiff (JDB2) filed Motion for Summary Judgment. In the motion the Plaintiff specifically refers to Bussiness Record Affidavit and an Affidavit for Attorney Fees. The motion fails to enumerate the facts at issues and which pages of attached evidence address the facts, it does have documents attached as evidence, all of which fail to show a direct link between the Plaintiff and account. (Attached) How do I specify issues of fact and objections if the motion is stated in a general manner? Strategically, if I go through all of the pleadings and motion and identify related evidence + weaknesses I do myself a disservice. I would be stating the grounds for their case, giving them all the info they need to strengthen their case, and it providing them with information regarding my strategy, knowledge base, and abilities. Can someone please help me with how best to address this issue? I know that I can request revisions by specifying things that are vague or ambiguous, but that my request is too general it will be denied, and am again unsure because their entire motion is too vague and ambiguous. I welcome your related experiences and advice. Thank you in advance. JDB-MSJ.pdf

Need advice. Junk debt attorney sued me in 2014 for allegations on a Care Credit card (which was sanctioned for violating the CFPA by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for many illegal practices). My answer was timely filed and now it's going on 18 months with no activity from the court or plaintiffs. I received a letter for trial date next month. What are my options?

Hi guys, first time here. I live in a small town in Washington and my resources here seem to be very limited. I've never been sued before but I received a summons yesterday for 3 different medical bills rolled into one, totally 298 dollars (can they even do that?). I called the collection agency (Armada), scared to death, and was ready to pay the 427 dollar bill that it had increased to. However the woman told me, since it was now filed with the court I also had to pay attornies fees and so forth, now totally 841 dollars (i'm pretty sure it doesn't cost $400 to file a complaint). I know it may not sound like much, but I feel like I'm being bullied and robbed here. I've read that 85-95% of these cases end in default judgment becasue the defendants never reply to the summons. So I decided to stand up for myself. I've googled all of my questions and can't find anything for WA State law. A few questions I have are: 1. I wanted to do a general denial in the answer to force them to provide proof of services and that they legitmatley have claim to the debts, should I also file a sworn denial at this time? 2. Do they need to provide a copy of the actual evidence, like my signature on the intake form, what services were rendered, and so forth? (was that stuff supposed to be with the summons?) 3. When do I file motions? Before or after the answer? (what motions would I file, discovery?) 4. If this goes on, does it cost them more money or will I eventually have to pay even more attornies fees if I lose? 5. If this does go to trial and they do have the documents I requested, what then? Go through with it anyway and hope that the judge may reduce the total amount owed? 6. Is there anything I should do before hand (even if its a longshot) to make sure its still on the table after my answer (e.g. motion to dismiss, affirmative defenses, counterclaims etc.) I'm really just hoping that they find all this not worth their time, and maybe even settle for something much less. Is that realistic or wishful thinking? Thank you guys so much.

I am pro se and defending our foreclosure case in Orange County, Fl and about to file a 'Motion to Vacate Judgment' in terms of Rule 1.130(a) and Rule 1.540 b (1,2&3). Can anyone, who has cases in mind or has access to 'Westlaw', Lexis Nexis, etc., please give me links to a number of Appeal cases where judgments favored the mortgagor(borrower) in connection the above two Fl Rules. Much appreciated.

MY MIDLAND "START TO FINISH" STORY After struggling with this debt collection nightmare with Fred Hanna and Midland Funding for over a year it all ended today with a judgment in favor of me, the defendant! The road was long and included the dunning phase, a case filed in magistrate court (dismissed without prejudice) and then re-filed a few months later in State court. Because I was also suffering being laid off from my job, I can’t even explain the fear and stress I experienced during this whole process. But I really want to share this experience, because it has ended with a positive result – Midland abused the legal process and tried to bully money out of me without a shred of evidence, and in the end, both midland and Hanna's laughable attorneys looked like fools. DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT A LAWYER. NONE OF THE FOLLOWING IS INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IT IS SIMPLY MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE COURT SYSTEM AND THE JDB PROCESS. IF YOU NEED LEGAL ADVICE, CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY! THE DUNNING PHASE Prior to Midland filing the suit in Magistrate Court, I received a “dunning” letter from Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, P.C., a debt collection law firm here in Georgia. The dunning letter contained such little information about this debt they were pursuing on behalf of their client, whom I’d never heard of and I seriously was scared and confused. I started researching and uncovered the treasure trove of information regarding the “dunning” process. I sent a request for validation of the debt to Hanna (within the 30 day period) and immediately checked my credit reports. I found that Midland Funding was reporting this debt to all my credit reports under the name “Midland Credit Management”. Again, shocked and confused, I sent Midland a letter Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested and asked for a validation of this debt and confirmation of Fred Hanna’s representation of them in this debt collection pursuit. I never received a response from Midland whatsoever. Fred Hanna’s office sent what they called validation of the debt, which was basically a recitation of what their first letter said, giving me no more information than before. So, from the get go, I was very suspicious and skeptical of both Fred Hanna and of Midland because I assume if one did in fact own a debt and was pursuing it, they wouldn’t be so secretive about the details of the debt. (I didn’t know at the time that the actual information junk debt buyers or debt collectors had about any debt they pursued was minimal). THE MAGISTRATE COURT CASE Approximately, one month later, Midland Funding LLC filed a “suit on account” in Magistrate Court against me in Georgia for a little over $6,000. No documents whatsoever were attached to the complaint. They titled themselves “Midland Funding LLC Assignee of Chase Bank USA NA” as the Plaintiff. At this point I was pretty ticked off because I had tried to find out more information about this “debt” I supposedly owed but got so little from Hanna and NOTHING from the actual company who was supposedly owed this debt and worse, they were reporting negatively to my credit report! My train of thought is, if some stranger knocked on your front door and claims to be collecting a debt for Joe Blow, which you may or may not have owed years ago, would you just start writing the check? I’d hope not! There’s so many fraudsters out there today so it was not unreasonable that I asked for some kind of documentation to ease any of my concerns. So, in Magistrate court I filed an answer and the process was fairly simple and relaxed. I basically said that I didn’t believe I owed this debt and this company is unknown to me and unresponsive to requests for information. It was scheduled for a “trial” about three months after it was filed. I say “trial” in quotes because it was anything but a real trial. It was basically two lawyers from Fred Hanna’s office sitting at two tables with a huge stack of files calling people up one by one to “talk”. The judge is present but pretty much only to put a signature on the settlement agreements or dismissals after the talks. By the way, these were all debt buyer cases, not original creditor cases. I watched person after person go to have their “talk”, none of which questioned the legitimacy of the debt whatsoever, That just boggled my mind and it became apparent why I never got any answers from Fred Hanna or Midland – why do the extra work when we don’t have to? After all 95% of the cases in this particular jurisdiction are default judgments. The lawyers used phrases like, “this kind of thing never goes away…”, “let’s just go ahead and take care of it now…” and make it seem like any settlement offer with the slightest discount is a huge favor to the defendant so they feel pressured to just agree. Only one person of all the defendants there had a lawyer. There was some quiet whispering between the two lawyers and I doubt any agreement actually resulted, it was probably just dismissed. When it was my turn to go up, the first thing I said was “Before I will make any agreement whatsoever, I would like to see some kind of documentation that you own this account.” That just messed this lawyer’s streak of “consent judgments” and he immediately got aggressive. He put a credit card statement in front of me and said “isn’t this your debt? Didn’t you live at this address?” I stuck to my guns, told him “So what if I did, I asked for proof, not this.” At that point, we had gotten a little loud I think, and it he flatly said, “Fine, we’ll just re-file this.” I said, “Great, and maybe then you’ll actually provide the proof I’ve been asking for this whole time.” So the judge signed off on the Dismissal without Prejudice. While walking out of the court room, the next defendant after me started raising hell with the lawyer. Apparently, I started a chain reaction. [Continues next...]