Sued by Midland in Texas

mattdogg02 · April 28, 2013

First off, great forum, everyone seems like they are willing to help, and it is a wealth of knowledge!

Second, I want to note that my wife was never served in this case, and we actually have a Dismissal for Want of Prosecution hearing scheduled for this week. However, I know that this could come back to us and so I want to go ahead and start getting prepared. I have attached the documents that I have received from one of the soliciting defense lawyers, I'm not sure if this is complete, but am posting what I know.

I mostly want to find out the best course of action if this does come back as a fresh case.

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

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Fulton, Friedman, and Gullace Firm (says ABC Legal on letterhead though), Johnetta Lang is laywer

3. How much are you being sued for? ~$8600

4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) HSBC (who I believe was bought out by Capital One?)

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Started getting defense lawyer emails, don't think we were served because we moved last year.

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) We weren't

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

9. What state and county do you live in? TX, Collin

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) Not exactly sure, but date of first delinquincy from credit report states 1/2010

11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 4 Years I believe

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). Dismissal for Want of Prosecution

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No, 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? Since we haven't been served, we haven't responded.

16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. I have attached what I received (not sure if complete).

texasrocker · April 28, 2013

How did the defense attorney get your current address if it is not the same as on the summons?

mattdogg02 · April 28, 2013

It was sent to our previous address and fwded by USPS as part of our forwarding.

ArtVandelay · April 28, 2013

This is the first time I've heard of Dismissal for Want of Prosecution. Just doing a quick search it looks like the most important thing you can do is show up. Hopefully the other side will not. Not sure if its an option but it wouldn't hurt to ask the judge for dismissal with prejudice. The worst thing he can do is say no. I would definitely ask some of the legal minds here like NASCAR if they have any advice on this. Maybe there is some other motion you can make to get it thrown out for good.

Good Luck!

texasrocker · April 28, 2013

Are you still in the same county?

BV80 · April 28, 2013

I don't believe the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution. That means that the case has been sitting there a long time and the plaintiff has done nothing to pursue the case. Your court rules will tell you how long a case can sit without any action before it's dismissed for lack of prosecution.

mattdogg02 · April 29, 2013

Are you still in the same county?

Yes.

I don't believe the case will be dismissed for want of prosecution. That means that the case has been sitting there a long time and the plaintiff has done nothing to pursue the case. Your court rules will tell you how long a case can sit without any action before it's dismissed for lack of prosecution.

I can only assume its because they haven't located us for service. I believe its been 90 days since initial filing.

mattdogg02 · April 30, 2013

So based on the what I've linked in my original post, what would be the best defense?

texasrocker · April 30, 2013

Wait and see if you actually get served.

Do not send them any money or attempt to contact them.

debtzapper · April 30, 2013

www.govcollect.org/files/Texas_Debt_Collection.pdf

This is a 10 page guide to TX debt collection law written by a TX debt coll. lawyer.

nikkinlt · May 15, 2013

@mattdogg02, Johnetta is an idiot. Any lawyer in the collection business in Texas will tell you that. Also, Midland doens't have any employees. When you get served, file an answer and send discovery and then ask to depose someone at Midland. They will squirm.