I, too am a defendent

[rjkelly34]

I too am a Defendant filed by (Midland funding... and XXX..i googled his (XX) name and i can't tell you how long the list of clients he is suing on behalf of MF).

I have read over and over these posts here and am still terrified about trying to figure out just where to begin.

I am curious..and I think this might be a dead giveaway, but in Count I : Money Lent / Money Paid, section 7 reads the following.

--The account records are not attached hereto because, upon information and belief: (a) Plaintiff is not the original creditor and does not have possession , custody or control of said records; ( copies were sent monthly to the Defendant (s), and are or were in Defendant' (s) possession, custody or control; © said account records may be voluminous.

Is this a dead giveaway that they have no records that they can use against me or are willing to try and locate? Are they saying that I am the one that's supposed to provide information to produce against myself??

It's interesting that its the last count listed under Section I, before heading to Count II. Like, I might ignore it or disregard it?

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Edited September 7, 2010 by rjkelly34
didn

[SingleDadJames]

Welcome rjkelly34! I'm pretty new here as well and I feel your pain relating to MF. I'm still learning a TON but I've definitely learned a lot thanks to the forums here. They are truly an invaluable resource.

You'll probably get many more responses to your question(s) if you start a new thread. I'll do my best to provide my thoughts/feedback in the meantime.

I too am a Defendant filed by (Midland funding... and XXX..i googled his (XX) name and i can't tell you how long the list of clients he is suing on behalf of MF).

From the dozens of hours I've already spent reading through the forums this seems to be the norm. These junk debt buyers buy huge portfolios of bad debt and the attorney handle these cases in bulk. Mainly they get easy default judgements awarded because the Defendant shows up. Or the next best case scenario is the Defendant settles and/or agrees to make payments.

I have read over and over these posts here and am still terrified about trying to figure out just where to begin.

I can definitely relate. I've been active here for a few months and I still bounce back and forth between mild confidence and complete fear and panic.

The best advice I can give is try to take break things down and go step by step. Handle one thing at a time, especially in the beginning. If you've been served with a summons and complaint you probably need to appear or file a written answer. If you have a set time to file a written answer start thinking about that and researching how to do so. Make sure you meet any deadline regarding an answer because otherwise MF will be awarded a default judgment because of your failure to act.

Is this a dead giveaway that they have no records that they can use against me or are willing to try and locate? Are they saying that I am the one that's supposed to provide information to produce against myself??

I don't know if it's a dead giveaway that they have no records obtainable...it's only an indication that they either didn't have them at the time the suite was filed, or were too lazy to do the extra work to include them.

In actuality when your complaint and the lawsuit were filed the attorney probably had little or absolutely no records or documentation other than an electronic file or spreadsheet transmitted to them from MF that says you owe such and such amount and an alleged account number.

From what I can tell they tend to do little work in the beginning because they are banking that you'll never answer or show up in court and they'll be handed a default judgement for doing next to nothing. The other possibility they hope for is you'll be so scared S-less that you'll agree to work out a settlement for close to what they want.

They probably had no real proof in their immediate possession when they drafted and filed the complaint but that doesn't mean they can't and won't obtain documentation. Depending on how high the alleged balance is and the age of the alleged account they can more than likely obtain records or even manufacture them if need be . But you are absolutely right, if/when you answer the complaint with a denial they will likely then ask via the Discovery process that you politely provide all of the information to prove their case for them.

If that doesn't work then they'll obtain proof or evidence if they can when they have to. They often have to buy the documentation so they don't always have it or get it until they absolutely have to. Although I've read some posts where the junk debt buyer fired off proof immediately after a general denial answer, it doesn't seem to be the typical situation.

Of course I'm still a novice here but I can say that is the general theme you'll come away with after you've spent dozens of hours sifting through posts here!

Whether or not they have proof isn't evident right now and really isn't the biggest problem. You first need to ask yourself how you want to proceed and determine how to answer the complaint if you haven't done so. Some people just want all the legal problems to go away as quickly as possible. Other people are willing to fight the junk debt buyer tooth and nail every step of the way and make them prove everything. It's a personal decision only the Defendant can make.

No matter what your intent you'll need to answer the complaint if you want to avoid a default judgment. To answer the complaint you'll have to consider a variety of things based on your knowledge and information available to you. Is it your debt? Is the amount correct? Even so are you 100% sure MF actually now owns this debt? If they do are they even allowed to collect on it? Has the SOL expired?

In your answer you'll need to either admit, deny, or if you don't have enough information or knowledge to admit or deny then you'll likely still need to answer the complaint by stating so and then proceed from there.

Good luck!

"James"

Edited September 9, 2010 by SingleDadJames

[SingleDadJames]

Is this a dead giveaway that they have no records that they can use against me or are willing to try and locate?

I also just noticed that you are from OH. If you are being sued by MF in Oh that may be another clue as to why they didn't attach any documentation.

One of MF's favorite type of "proof" or "documentation" is to provide a notarized affidavit from one of their alleged employees that says they have access to the records associated with the alleged account and basically that they promise you owe that much because they looked at your records and they promise they say so.

It's much easier for them to automatically import names and account numbers into their affidavit template and print off hundreds of affidavits than it is to attach actual documentation.

Just last year MF got into some hot water in OH for using these mass affidavits and false affidavits. (Google and search this forum for Midland Funding vs. Brent in OH) In fact I believe the judge issued an injunction to stop them from using affidavits altogether in Oh. Rather than changing their entire game plan it would be easier to simply change those complaints in OH to read the way yours does and not include anything.

Of course this is all merely my .02...but it's worth a thought.

[Massive]

I don't care if it is your account, you don't owe Midland Funding LLC one red cent. If they send you discovery requests when they haven't even proven they own the debt how can you possibly have sufficient information to admit to anything they request?

[SingleDadJames]

I don't care if it is your account, you don't owe Midland Funding LLC one red cent.

I was trying to offer a little help but after seeing Massive's post I decided I should definitely clarify that I was NOT suggesting that just because the debt IS a Defendant's and the amount IS correct that a Defendant automatically admit to every allegation or roll over and hand the money over without protest.

Even if the debt is yours and the amount is correct that doesn't mean Midland is entitled, or even allowed, to collect it. Maybe they have no proof of ownership. Maybe they do but the debt is beyond the SOL.

All I was trying to say is that worrying about whether or not they actually have proof is a bit of a waste of time right now. The first step would be to deal with answering the complaint if it hasn't already been done. I went back and edited that previous post because it could definitely be misunderstood that I was implying that someone should admit allegations in a complaint or settle just because the alleged debt in a complaint is theirs and the amount is correct. Deciding to answer with a denial, admission, lack of knowledge; or whether to proceed with a fight or working out a settlement are personal decisions no one but the Defendant can make.