Fade to Black Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 My DW received a summons. Assigned a case number with Case Management Conference scheduled for 6/25. This is from attorney who is representing Discover. The summons was in our private mail box. I picked it up at midnight when I checked the mail. It is dated by the clerk of the court 10/28/03. I feel as though I might have missed something.She has 30 days from when to respond?This Attorney is CA for Discover. They have not responded to DV letter. They are subject to FDCPA, right? I know we have to check with court to see what is there. I am just wondering about the way it was served and possible defenses. Thanks for any responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadynRed Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 The suit was filed 10/03 and your wife was JUST served ??? 5 months ??? I do believe that once a suit is filed in CA, then they have a set period of time in which to serve the summons. I'd have to check the CA statutes to be certain of that. Service my mail is allowed, but again, checking the CA statutes in called for.Any chance the SOL on this Discover debt has exprired ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadhead Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Was the summons actually mailed or simply stuck in your mailbox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fade to Black Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 The DOLA is 11/02. They just stuck it in the box. According to California website, they must also mail one.I checked the court website and found out two interesting facts. One is that they have been trying to serve my wife many times and were charged $150 everytime the court had to reschedule the hearing due to no proof of service.The second was Citibank filed a lawsuit against me and has not been able to locate me to serve me.If we contest this in court, we will going in blind. We have no idea what to expect or how to fill out the required forms or what forms are required.According to everything I read here, they have not shown proper validation and are violating her rights.W need to find a paralegal or such to explain to us what we need to do. Any help from here is GREATLY APPRECIATED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocDon Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 If they failed to properly serve you, that will be your answer to the summons. Call the court and ask how to go about filing an answer - they are there to help you, not work against you (or pass judgment). They'll be able to steer you in the right direction.Violations of the FDCPA, and FCRA are not in and of themselves enough reason to dismiss a suit on a valid debt. You can use the violations as ammo and a bargaining tool, but it's more than likely the attorney will slough it off, since most can't see past their own arrogance.In that case, you get all your proof together, including cases to show precedence, and file suit against them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fade to Black Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Spears vs Brennan proves failure to cease debt collections.Wollman letter says verification from OC not CA.Where can I find case law or such that references a signed contract? Are they required to produce a signed contract? Thanks for the help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fade to Black Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Another thought crossed my mind...If CA wins judgement against DW. can they attack the equity in our home even though she signed a quit claim deed and is not on title? My guess is yes, California is community property state. OR like DW likes to say "What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine, too."I also realize that this is not the end of the world, just part of an adventure that will stoke conversations for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herauntsis Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 If you can prove that the funds to pay the house payment are not commingled with your wife's funds (for instance, if she is a stay-at-home mom and has no income, or you keep your money in separate accounts and you make the house payment out of your account), then the quitclaim may stand. Where is Calawyer -- he probably knows the answer to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2004 Report Share Posted March 24, 2004 ALways look into filing a countersuit if you find you have to file an answer to a summons.That way you can use what State (California is MUCHO consumer friendly) ANd Federal laws and fines to lower what you MIGHT have to pay. If you prove they broke enough laws.. the judge might toss itGood luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J_Snow Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 If you can prove that the funds to pay the house payment are not commingled with your wife's funds (for instance, if she is a stay-at-home mom and has no income, or you keep your money in separate accounts and you make the house payment out of your account), then the quitclaim may stand. Where is Calawyer -- he probably knows the answer to this.I knew there was a reason my wife and I have kept seperate accounts... Great info there.. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeri_james Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I live in California (San Francisco) and Discover was the only CC to file suit against me, and coincidentally, i had defaulted on several others before I defaulted on Discover.Anyway, I recived a summons 26 days ago on a Sunday delivered by messenger from the San Francisco Superior Court. The summons was from Bidna & keys attorney for Discover and said I had 30 days to respond or a default judgment would be against me. So I had to go into overdrive to actually get ready to file BK. I was procrastinating to be honest. I've read several message boards on BK and Discover seems to be the one that doesnt' wait for anything and will sue for a dime.Interestingly enough, from what you also mention, the summons was actually filed some time in January of 2004, but I was just served by the court early march. It specifcally did say I had 30 days to respond from when the summons was served on me (which would be 26 days ago). Dont know what city you live in, but I guess the courts in SF are pretty full. The court date was set all the way down in June of 2004, but still, if I didn't respond with an answer to the summons within 30 day, they could win a default judgment against me, and that was something I could not have happen.I'm probably not in the same situation as you, I dont have a home or any large assets, but I do have a checking account and earn some money which could be attached and that would be a disaster for me.So I finally filed today for BK, I had intended to do it, but was fearful, but once I knew Discover would play hardball, I knew I had to do something. You are not the only person who is dealing with Discover right now. I've heard of so many who are, and many who have been forced to file BK due to Discover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeri_james Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 also, wanted to add, dont know which attorney your Discover acct is with, but Discover is using Bidna & Keys for me, and when I was at the attorney office today filing, he wanted to make sure he had Bidna's fax number so he could fax over the BK info . He called them and somebody gave him a fax number, but when he tried to fax them, the number said it was not in service. So he is going to get to the bottom of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fade to Black Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Same CA suing me as aeri. Pretty much the same situation as me. I have 3 more days to receive a summons in the mail or they did not process it. (crossing my fingers) We will most likely take it all the way to court before we consider BK. There are other options available to us. I am actively comparing different scenarios. Thanks for all the help, support and ideas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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