Being sued by Midland Funding in Texas

[4473]

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.)

Michael James Young

P.O. Box 460568

Houston, TX

 

3. How much are you being sued for? 

$2556.52

 

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

Citibank (Sears CC)

 

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

 

 9. What state and county do you live in?

Texas, Williamson

 

 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations)

December 2012

 

11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 

 4 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).

Suit Served

 

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)

No

 

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? 

14 days from serve date which was 9/19

 

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

OC Statement, Credit Card Contract, Bill of Sale

 

I've​ researched numerous other post very similar to mine and have prepared my original answer following the guidelines @texasrocker has posted previously.  I plan on filing it next Monday.  Unless there is a better suggestion on the type of answer I should file.

Do ​I need to file discovery questions?  If so, some guidance on the type of questions would appreciated.​

If I do need to file questions, do they need to be filed with the original answer to the court or do they just need to be sent to the attorney filing suit, when I send them a copy of my original answer?

I've attached the paperwork that was given to me, minus the credit card statement.

Thank you in advance for any help!!!

​

​

Midland Suit Redacted.pdf

[shellieh98]

Follow the advice of texasrocker.  If this is justice court, you will need to ask the court to conduct discovery.  When that is done we can send you a list of discovery.

[4473]

Sorry, I meant to state in my original post that this is in justice court. I can add that into the original answer. Is there specific verbage in which that needs to be stated?

[shellieh98]

Defendant has denied knowledge of account.  Defendant hereby requests the court allow discovery requests in this Instant action to ascertain knowledge of alleged account..  (something like that)  

[4473]

Thank you shellieh98!

 

I think I have confused myself a little by going back and researching some other posts that are similar.  Since this is in JP court, I have to get the courts permission for discovery.  Will I include that request in the original answer or does it need to be a separate document and filed after the answer. If in the original answer, does it need to go near the beginning of the answer?  Some of the other posts made it sound like the answer could be filed and then the request for discovery permission was filed separately.

[shellieh98]

I have seen it done both ways, but most of the cases it was done after the answer, or with, but separate from the answer.  

[texasrocker]

Get your answer filed then ask the clerk of court how they want you to go about getting approval to begin discovery.  Different courts have different rules and procedures.  It is extremely important to learn the rules; it could make the difference in winning or losing your case.   

 

The court may not even read your answer for weeks or more depending on when the plaintiff brings something up so if you include that in your answer it could just result in a lot of time being wasted. 

[4473]

Ok great. Thank you both for ya'lls advise!!  It is helping me out tremendously.  I'll get the answer filed on Monday and talk to the clerk.

[4473]

@texasrocker  @shellieh98   I filed my answer yesterday and spoke with the clerk about discovery.  She stated that I just needed to file a motion for discovery and include all of the questions that I want answered.  She said the judge will review the questions and either approve them, deny them or modify them.  Which I assume means she will pick and choose which ones will be allowed.  She didn't say how long this process will take.  I assume it is at the judge's leisure.  Do you have any suggestions on questions I should ask?

 

Thank you for your help

[texasrocker]

Type this in the same format as what you were served with (court and case info at the top)  I will PM you fist set of discovery for the court to review and then to send to the plaintiff's attorney's office after approval has been granted.

 

MOTION SEEKING COURT'S PERMISSION TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY

 

Comes now, Defendant ______________ and files his (her) Motion to request permission from the honorable Court to begin Level 1 discovery pursuant to Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 190.2 and Rule 500.9

 

Defendant hereby asks to send Plaintiff Request for Disclosure (pursuant to TRCP Rule 194), request for admissions, production of documents, and interrogatories relative to how Plaintiff intends to prove up the assignment of the alleged debt they claim to own which is the subject of the lawsuit.  Defendant asserts that Plaintiff lacks standing to bring forth this lawsuit; therefore discovery is reasonable and necessary in order to develop his (her) defense and to minimize taking up the Court's valuable time. 

 

PRAYER

Defendant prays that the honorable Court grant his (her) Motion For Permission To Conduct Discovery and grant Defendant any other relief that he (she) is entitled to.

 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 

I certify that on __________(date) I have sent via certified mail a true and correct copy of this MOTION SEEKING COURT'S PERMISSION TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY to  ___________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

(Plaintiff's attorney's name, address and phone number)

 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

(Your signature, printed name, address phone number)

 

Edit: When you take this in ask the clerk if you need to schedule a hearing for the motion.

[4473]

Ok, I got the motion filed with the court on 10-9-15 seeking permission for discovery, along with the discovery questions provided me.  I'm assuming they will send me a letter or something if they grant or deny the request?  Also, I assume I wait on the permission before I send any discovery questions to the attorney. I will be sending a certified letter to the attorney containing the motion seeking permission, but will be holding off on sending the actual questions.  Just wanted to make sure I was correct in my thinking.