chewba1 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I need some advice. Today a sheriff delivered a summons to appear for Pretrial Conference in September. I am being sued by GE Money Bank for a Lowe's Hardware Credit acct. that was charged off. My last payment was in 10/06 and my balance then was $2100. now they say I owe over $2600.00 plus $750.00 for legal fees. It does not have a questionaire attached. It states the Defendant must appear in court on date specified in order to avoid a default judgment. The Plaintiff must appear to avoid having the case dismissed for lack of prosecution. A written MOTION or ANSWER to the court by the plaintiff or defendant shall not excuse the personal appearance of a party or its attorney in the PRETRIAL CONFERENCE. I did send a dv letter to this LAWYER prior to this but was unable to make arrangements because I am still working on paying off 5 other charge offs. We can't handle anymore payment arrangements(although with this we will wind up)My question is do I send in an answer and if so what defense can I use. I do owe money. I am just trying to avoid a judgment. Is there anyway that we can do that NOW???? The forms included with the summons was a letter of assignment for the lawyer or CACH LLC and GE MOney BAnk, copies of monthly bills.Affidavit of indebtedness and certificate of assignment. Any help you can give me would be soooo welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will35010 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Check the SOL for your state. But, first & foremost, go to court. Talk to the attorney and try to settle before it goes to court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewba1 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thank you for your quick response. I am definitely going to go to court but are you saying that I should try to contact the lawyer prior to that date and make an arrangement? Even though I did not have a sheet or instructions to provide an answer should I submit one anyway and if so what defense do I actually have?? I have tried to follow all the stickies and get more info but each case seems so unique in a way that I'm not sure how to follow this. I would just like to avoid a judgment and we do not have any funds for a complete settlement unless it were a monthly arrangement for at least six months to a year. What is your input??? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merrybucks Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Check your RCP's to see if you are required to make a written response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewba1 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 I checked all the papers and it doesn't say anything about sending in papers other than as above that by filing them it won't save me from appearance. I am just not sure if I should fill out a form or type something up and drop it by the court house just to cover myself. I am also not sure if I should contact the lawyer suing us and try to work out something. She might figue she has me scared and try to force me into an arrangement that I couldn't possibly make. I can only afford a small amount each month till my car is paid off and some of the other credit cards we are paying are finished. Any suggestions???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montanatim Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 It looks as though the bad guys have all they need to win this one. I know it's a rotten position to be in but.....If you fail to reach a settlement of some kind that dismisses this case you will have a judgment. If I could think of any straws for you to grasp at I would certainly throw them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewba1 Posted July 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 It looks as though the bad guys have all they need to win this one. I know it's a rotten position to be in but.....If you fail to reach a settlement of some kind that dismisses this case you will have a judgment. If I could think of any straws for you to grasp at I would certainly throw them out.Thanks that is what I was wondering should I contact the Lawyer now and ask them if we could work something out or do I just get up when the judge says "anyone who would like to work with our negotiators go with now"(would that mean an immediate judgment or is that their way of avoiding a judgment and working out a plan?????). I was lucky the first time and we never had a judgment and things worked out so we just pay the monthly fee to a lawyer but I can't remember all that I did to achieve that Maybe I was just LUCKY> thanks for your previous input and advice and if you have any answers to these it would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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