Answering a Summons

[SalPacetti]

Hello everyone,

I am in WI and I need to file a response to a summons I received. I called the circuit court to ask if there is a particular format the response needed to be in and they told me they could not give legal advice.

I pulled the statutes and I am sorting thru it now to figure out how to respond. From what I can ascertain, I need to respond to each section of the complaint clearly and concisely.

Here's my question:

Do I deny everything? The debt is mine however it does not appear anywhere on my credit reports --- I mean nothing at all. If I deny that the debt is mine is that purgery?

Also, what does filing a response do exactly? Will they set a court date? Do they need to validate this before a court date is set?

Just curious to know what's going to happen next.

Thanks

[bingo]

Do you have an SOL issue? When did you last pay the orginal creditor?

[Sky Warner]

Well I would reply to the summons that until you have a full accounting history and validation on the account you will not be able to say or tell if it is your account

[SalPacetti]

Thanks for the responses. I believe the last activity on the card was sometime in 1999 but I can not be certain. I had some records lost/destroyed in a move.

I have heard it said here that requesting validation in an answer to a summons isn't a good idea. Is this true?

What I could do is just say that I have no knowledge of it couldn't I (then request validation from the CA/Lawyer??

I guess what I am asking -- is there anything I should NOT say (other than admission that the debt is mine -- obviously I won't do that!)

I want to make sure I am doing this right because chances are the debt wont be validated since it doesn't appear on any of my credit reports (well I can hope).

[Anonymous]

I don't believe anyone has said that a request for Validation should not be made after the CA has filed a summons. Some fear that it might bring you to court if your not there yet.

So once you've recieved a summons the validation request won't bring on a second summonds. But, It should stop the court procedings long enough for you to get something negotiated. You however, you must stay on top of the court rules and be ready with your request for complete and full validation in court if necessary.

[LadynRed]

Ok. Let me clarify since my statement about Answering a Summons with a validation request is a bad idea. You can request validation SEPARATELY, but do NOT mention validation in your Answer to the Complaint. All you need to put in your Answer is 'insufficient knowledge'. A lawsuit and FDCPA violations are 2 different things and you cannot mix them. Stick to 'affirm', 'deny', or 'insufficient knowledge' in your Answer. If you don't deny at least one allegation, the plaintiff will certainly go for a summary judment and you may lose before ever going to court. If you want your day in cour, deny as much as you reasonably can.

Here's a few links on how to Answer a Summons, along with a list of Affirmative defenses that can be used:

http://www.nwjustice.org/docs/205.html

http://www.legalhelp.org/answering_complaint.htm

http://www.legalhelp.org/affirmative_diffense.htm

If you include validation demands WITH your Answer, you'll end up with the plaintiff burying you with requests for discovery .. and you do NOT want that at this point in time. All that will do is try to trap you into admitting the debt... and winning FOR them !

[SalPacetti]

Thank you very much for the links Lady. And thanks to everyone else for your responses. I have to get this done over the weekend so I am glad I have some resources to work with.

[ADSOFT]

<blockquote>Originally posted by SalPacetti

Thank you very much for the links Lady. And thanks to everyone else for your responses. I have to get this done over the weekend so I am glad I have some resources to work with.

</blockquote>

Hey, Sal,

What is the lawsuit for????

[calawyer]

Also think long and hard about whether you have any claims against the plaintiff. In some states, a counterclaim must be asserted at the time of the answer.

[TexasLawyer]

Be sure that you know what you are doing when you answer the complaint. For example, in Texas, we may, for most causes of action, generally deny all the allegations in the petition (Texas equivalent of federal court complaint). I understand that most other state courts utlize rules similar to or the same as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Was it in state or federal court?

[SalPacetti]

This is a lawsuit for a Citibank credit card sold to Pioneer Financial. (Summons says successor in interest so I assume they bought it.) This is state circuit court.

Problem is, there is NO reference to citibank on any of my 3 credit reports. I mean nowhere, no how, no account numbers, no Pioneer Financial -- nothing.

What I did was go thru every paragraph and my response to each was:

Defendant is without sufficient information and leaves plaitiff to his proof.

The things that I denied were the amount owed and the dates they alledge that goods and services were delivered (they say through April 18, 2003. Well I haven't had any credit cards since late 2001.

TexasLaw -- I was told not to deny anything that I knew was true -- your post suggests I deny everything.. ?? Wouldn't it be purgery if I denied anything factual?

If someone could please tell me if I am doing this right I would appreciate it. I need to file this in the next day or two.

Thanks

ALSO:

With regard to requesting validation, do I send the request to the Attorney representing the CA or the CA itself?

[Edit by SalPacetti on Sunday, June 8, 2003 @ 10:23 PM]

[Edit by SalPacetti on Sunday, June 8, 2003 @ 11:07 PM]

[ADSOFT]

Well, basically, it seems that if the bill was yours you are going to have to reach some settlement agreement. Basically, if the SOL is not up, you are still responsible for some amount.

So, if they don't have a contract, again, like I told JERSEY, I would add up all the cost, purchase that you made and try to settle for 40% on the dollar. If you look at the case of SPEARS & Brennin, I believe that's what they were agrueing, they owed money but not all the extra stuff.

I'm not sure what the rules are on SETTLING if they get a judgement on you????? I think the answer is obvious , but I don't know.

Just remember, if you used the card, then you owe SOMETHING, you want to settle for less(40%-65%) of the final bill before interest, legal fees etc.

Hopefully, some of the more experienced members will jump in!!!!

[TexasLawyer]

I cannot address your state's rules of procedure. I believe that Texas is unique in allowing a general denial of all claims. You should review a practice guide and/or your state's rules of procedure to determine the proper way to admit or deny allegations in the complaint.