Midland vs. Me (another one)

[janeylee]

I posted before, asking for help, before I actually answered these questions. Now, the JDB's attorney has filed for summary judgment.

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) F&S

3. How much are you being sued for? Approx. $1000, plus interest and fees

4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) Aspire

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) In person

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 to my recollection

9. What state and county do you live in? El Paso County, CO

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Never -- account is not mine

11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: Six 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). Served, answered with affirmative defenses, F&S filed for summary judgment. I found out online because I haven't received anything from attorneys

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) Not yet

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

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? Already responded

16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Affidavit

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I'm not sure what to do next because I thought we were scheduled for pre-trial conference, and then they just filed motion for summary judgement few days ago.

Thank you.

[usagi555]

In most states, if not all, you must respond to the motion, and in writing. You typically have 15 days from the date you were served with the motion, though that could be different in CO. You need to know if they're claiming that you were served with the motion, for starters. You don't want them winning by default here because you never replied as a result of never having received the motion.

The basic standard of an MSJ is that there are no material facts in dispute and there is no way a jury would rule any other way. The court will view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant, which is you in this case. In a written response, you must convince the court that there is an issue of material fact. This does not mean arguing your entire case as though it was trial. It just means raising issues of fact that are not agreed upon between the parties or that are questionable in some way.

[BV80]

You need to find out if Midland is licensed as a collection agency in your state. An appeals court in CO ruled that a debt buyer is a collection agency and must be licensed.

"Here, plaintiff was engaged in a business the principal purpose of which was the collection of debts, it had its place of business located outside this state and was collecting or attempting to collect from consumers who reside within this state on a debt originally owed to a creditor whose place of business was located within this state, and it took the assignment when the debt was in default. Plaintiff is therefore a collection agency subject to the licensure requirements of § 12-14-118, C.R.S. (1991 Repl.Vol. 5A)." Commercial Service v. Fitzgerald, 856 P. 2d 58 - Colo: Court of Appeals, 5th Div. 1993

[usagi555]

You need to find out if Midland is licensed as a collection agency in your state. An appeals court in CO ruled that a debt buyer is a collection agency and must be licensed.

"Here, plaintiff was engaged in a business the principal purpose of which was the collection of debts, it had its place of business located outside this state and was collecting or attempting to collect from consumers who reside within this state on a debt originally owed to a creditor whose place of business was located within this state, and it took the assignment when the debt was in default. Plaintiff is therefore a collection agency subject to the licensure requirements of § 12-14-118, C.R.S. (1991 Repl.Vol. 5A)." Commercial Service v. Fitzgerald, 856 P. 2d 58 - Colo: Court of Appeals, 5th Div. 1993

And I believe that list can be found on Colorado's AG's website: http://www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/uploads/cab/CabReport.pdf

It appears that they are, and appears that one of the licensed subsidiaries lists its local CO office as F&S's.

[BV80]

I looked for that list but couldn't find it. Thank you.

[janeylee]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate all the help and the great information I've found on this site!

[Coltfan1972]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate all the help and the great information I've found on this site!

Might take a look at this thread.

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forums/there-lawyer-house/313112-all-inclusive-ive-been-sued-contacted-midland-whats-next-help-me.html#post1158232