jgads29 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hi my name is Jessica and I'm currently being sued by Capone. The plaintiff listed on the summons served by Sheriff is Capitol One. The named law firm is not listed at the top of the suit its only listed on the bottom of the page Frederick J. Hanna and associates. Suit amount is $ 924.96 plus court fees 103.00. Served in person by Sheriff. Legal by state of GA. I never had any correspondence with the attorneys group listed or even capitol one. State is Georgia, Dekalb County. Unknown last date of payment. I contacted both Capone and attny. Capone says they will have to research to find a statement of last payment for me which if they can find it I should receive in the mail 7-10 business days. Attorny says I need to request verification from him for it. Sent verification certified to attorney today which is also the same day I was served. Capone says they still own the account but have an attorney working to collect on it. According to Capone account was charged of in 2007. This account isnt even listed on my credit report probably because its past 7 years. To the best of my knowledge I stopped paying on this account when i was deployed and never paid on it again so last payment cant be past Nov 2006. I want to file my answer but I want to wait to see what information their attorny will produce on the claim. Either way SOL in VA for them is 3 yrs and for me in Ga 5 or 6 and has run out. Not sure what my next step should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Congratulations! Your next step is VERY VERY easy. You contact the law firm of skaar and Feagle at: 331 Washington Ave NE, Marietta, GA 30060(770) 427-5600 or Steve Koval at: 3575 Piedmont Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305(404) 350-5900 You have TWO bona fide FCDPA violations as counter claims and affirmative defenses. ANY consumer law firm in Atlanta should take this case on contingency and make it go away. Hanna violates all the time and in your case he has filed suit past the SOL and violated the Soldiers and Sailor's Relief Act. Call either one of those firms (do not email) first thing tomorrow. Personally I like Steve Koval as he already has a class action lawsuit against Hanna right now. Both firms LOVE to put him in his place. Good Luck! You should have no difficulty dispatching with this bogus law suit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Thanks for the heads up! I will def look into a consumer attny for some support. I Just wonder why they didnt include any documents with the summons? I'm still confused as to whether Capitol one sold this account or not. For such a small and old claim I'm surprised the attorney even took the claim. I'm also not sure if the SSAct will apply in my case as I'm no longer in the service but will def look into it. The only for sure reason I can sleep semi peacefully tonight is the knowledge that this account is definitely past SOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hanna takes anything he can make a nickel off of. He does not care and he does not follow the laws. Scum is too good a word to describe him. They did not include documents because GA Magistrate Court does not require it. Good luck and let us know how it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 *UPDATE* The law firm replied to my verification notice. They sent a few documents "proving it was my account" They also verified the accounts last payment being December 2006 although the account documents do not actually list a last payment date or amount paid. They have also offered me a lump sum settlement amount in the letter received and want the matter resolved by July 29th 2014. So at this point they clearly know that this debt is past GA SOL. I asked them to verify their knowledge in writing that the case is time barred however they did not give a response to that in the verification letter. I m wondering if I should attach the letter they sent me in my response to the courts in dismissing the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Forgot to mention that at the bottle of the letter it says " this is a communication from a debt collector" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 Sending my answer to summons Monday Morning (Tomorrow). here is what I wrote/pasted.Summons.docx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippy1960 Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 I am not from GA, but I generally speaking you should deny each paragraph of the complaint against you except for the fact of where you live, assuming you were servered properly at your current address. Your answer seems to read like answers to discovery, which it shouldn't. It is the plaintiff's job to prove the case, if you admit you had a card with Cap One, you have already made his job easier. Affirmative Defense is fine, although as stated I am not from GA, so don't know if it is the correct form. Finally, with a case that seems clear on the SOL, why didn't check with the attornies that were refered to. They should be able to get you an easy $1K dollars for the FDCPA violation. I am all for learning when you have to, but hate to see you end up snatching defeat from the jaws of victory....From what people post here regarding justice in GA for pro se, it doesn't sound very fair. Even in California with some of the strongest consumer laws in the country, if you don't get your filings correct the court will rule against you... Something to consider... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debtzapper Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 Did you ever contact the law firms recommended to you, or any GA law firms at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Most of these debt collection law firms operate on a contingency model -- they don't get paid unless they collect. However, they more work that an attorney makes them do, the more likely they are to ditch the case and move on. This may be especially true for cases with a low principal balance, such as yours. NOT Fred Hanna's firm. He is a whole different league of greedy. Hence the reason the CFPB is suing him. This isn't to say you couldn't fight this yourself. However, the odds are definitely stacked against you pro se. While that may be true in OK where you are it is NOT true in GA. GA has Magistrate Court and it is very pro-se friendly and you can beat Hanna or his rent-a-lawyers very easily if you study up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Thanks for the input everyone. I did in fact contact a law firm. Maxim and associates as a friend of the family works there. He offered some great advice as well. However I have chosen to represent myself as I do not intend to counter suit for personal reasons. I did submit my answer to the courts and changed my answer to number 2 slightly (Denies knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation). Court date is set for August 13th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I'm pretty confident that this case will be dismissed hopefully with prejudice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 *UPDATE/Discovery* So I decided to pull my credit report since being sued hoping to find some information on the debt. Well as it turns out Capital one had sued me in 2009 for the SAME DEBT I'm now being sued for.Apparently they won a summary judgment for the case that i was never even aware of. Of Course in 2009 the debt would not have been past the SOL and I would have lost the suit more than likely anyways but I'm pissed that they won when I didnt get a chance to put up a fight. Regardless JUDGMENTS in OKLAHOMA are unenforceable after 5 years of no activity or renewal. The debt has not been renewed but apparently they did try to garnish my wages back in 2012 however I was no longer employed. SO I think the judgment cannot be enforced which is why they are suing me yet again. Clearly at this point the situation is bigger than i originally thought and will have to use an attorney but I just wonder wouldn't this be illegal for them to resue me on a debt they already won a judgment on or does the fact that the judgment may be expired allow them to resue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 No they cannot file another lawsuit because the judgment expired and they failed to renew it. You have an iron clad affirmative defense: res judicata. The court has already decided this issue. It is also a FCDPA violation and a consumer attorney will likely take the case on contingency meaning you do not have to pay. So not only are you not paying the judgment but they may be paying you money for taking an action prohibited by law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgads29 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 Thanks for the response Clydes MOM I really appreciate it. I assumed the same thing but i will continue to read up on whether or not this judgment is considered unenforceable due to sol. It is hard to find a concrete answer for Oklahoma that meet the facts of my case. The Sol expiring makes since to me especially since they could have just enacted the UEFJA here in GA. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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