Stenger & Stenger Lawsuite Michigan

[TC6558]

I am being sued by Stenger and Stenger representing CVI Loan GT trust I (I can not find any info on them)

The account is a loan taken in 2008 with citi financial for 11000 

It was sold to Green Tree Servicing In 2012 or 2013. 

When the balance was $1,100 I tried to settle with Green Tree Servicing for $600

Long story short they excepted but did not comply with my request for a letter stating that they agree to the amount for settlement. They did send me a letter that said  " Tax time Settlement use your tax return to settle your account for 60% of the balance ($640)" To me this was not a legit letter I was expecting for an agreement on the settlement amount so I disregarded it. 

They eventually sold my account to a collection agency who offered a settlement of $800. By that time (summer of 2015) I could not afford to settle.

So now I have been served a Summons and Complaint from Stenger and Stenger representing CVI Loan GT trust I. 

I called them today (stenger) and offered them the same settlement amount of $640 that Green Tree was willing to except via their tax time settlement letter.

They countered with $1210 as the balance is now $1319.50 plus court costs. I told him see you in court and hung up.

 

I have not followed through with the filing an answer with the court. I have until June 10 to do that.

I don't really know what my next move should be and I hope someone here can walk me through it. I have read a few threads but I am very confused with the steps. 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me in some way.

 

 

[Brotherskeeper]

@TC6558

Can you please post the complaint and any documents attached to it--with personal info redacted? We need to see them in order to help you.

Is this in small claims court?

When is the alleged date of default? 

Do you have a copy of the Citifinancial loan agreement?  If not, please try to find one online from 2008 up until the year of the alleged default. Citifinancial (now called OneMain Financial, I believe) has compelled arbitration when being sued. Google has many cases from 2008 on.  If you can locate an agreement from the applicable time period, motioning to compel arbitration has been a very successful strategy used by posters (including Michigan!) here to get lawsuits dismissed.  

[TC6558]

Yes when I get home from work tonight I will post the summons and complaint and the citi contract if I can locate it.

 

Thanks for taking the time to help

[TC6558]

What exactly is the agreement I'm looking for with citi financial?

 

[Brotherskeeper]

23 minutes ago, TC6558 said:

What exactly is the agreement I'm looking for with citi financial?

 

@TC6558

I am not a lawyer (IANAL). The loan contract or agreement you allegedly entered into with the original creditor.  in your case Citifinancial, right? I guess this means that Stenger did not attach a copy of the written instrument (contract or agreement) to the Complaint. Did the Complaint allege you have the contract in your possession? This is why we need to see the Complaint and attached documents, including any affidavits. 

Are you being sued for a breach of contract or an account stated or unjust enrichment cause of action? If so, there is an underlying contract establishing your alleged liability that allegedly was assigned (sold) to multiple entities.  This thread has some info to walk you through some of your considerations:

 

[TC6558]

Ok here is the summons of complaint and agreement with citi financial starting with page one of complaint.

 

[TC6558]

[TC6558]

The last 3 pics are agreement with citi financial 

 

[Brotherskeeper]

@TC6558

Thanks for posting these, but they are hard to read in critical parts. Also, please look carefully as you have personal info unredacted. You can edit your posts to correct. 

Many, many problems with these docs that I see in a quick perusal. (IANAL)

1.) No bill of sale and assignment, with affidavits,  for the chain of ownership you describe in your first post;

2.) no account statement, purportedly sent to you, from original creditor or any successor in interest demanding the amount claimed  in the complaint;

3.) the "Account Statement" marked as Exhibit B is dated March 24, 2016; the Affidavit was allegedly signed on March 9, 2016.;

4.) the "Adjustment of Terms Agreement" is not the "Note" and refers to terms in the original loan, and is not signed by the lender.  Do you have the original Note with terms? Do you remember an arbitration clause in it? 

 

I can't read the name of the affiant. NotaryTia Devall is employed by Resurgent Capital Services, whose business address in SC is the same as the Plaintiff, CVI Loan  GT Trust I:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-devall-009b2955   Plaintiff is registered in Delaware. Resurgent, Sherman Group, LVNV and perhaps your plaintiff are under one umbrella. 

[TC6558]

Ok I fixed the personal info.

 

So what course of action can I take based on what you see and yes I understand you are not a lawyer.

 

[TC6558]

I will have to look for the original note. Hopefully I did not throw it out. 

 

[TC6558]

Yes I do have the original note and all paper work. Quite a bit though. Would be tough to take a pic and post. 

[Brotherskeeper]

1 minute ago, TC6558 said:

Yes I do have the original note and all paper work. Quite a bit though. Would be tough to take a pic and post. 

Look for an arbitration section or clause. Don't post the entire agreement. 

To be clear--that Adjustment of Terms is your copy and was not attached to the Complaint, correct? 

[Brotherskeeper]

@TC6558

If you have an arbitration clause in the original loan agreement, that is one avenue to consider.  If there is no arbitration clause, then you will either settle or fight them in court.  

[TC6558]

Yes the adjustment of terms is my copy.

There is an arbitration clause but I don't really understand what it is saying.

 

I'll post the clause when I get home from work. 

 

[Brotherskeeper]

@TC6558

Sounds promising for arb. You did not answer an important question. What is the date of default on this account?  

The statute of limitations in Michigan for breach of contract or an account stated is 6 years from the time the claim (breach or default as cause of action to sue) accrues, per MCL 600.5807(8):  http://legislature.mi.gov/doc.aspx?mcl-600-5807

By the way, if I were you, I would not assume the plaintiff actually owns this alleged account. I would not pay anyone anything without more proof. Unless you have historical documentation you have not shared here, plaintiff has an insufficient affidavit and an in-house statement--both of which you could prepare yourself. 

Fun fact: according to Linkedin,  the woman who purportedly prepared and signed your affidavit on March 9, 2016, used to work for Resurgent Captial Services in Greenville, SC , before leaving in August of 2014, to work at Perkins Law firm. No mention of working for CVI Loan  GT Trust I.  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-wood-024906a0

[TC6558]

Breach of contract/default I assume had to be less than 6 years ago as I had been paying green tree who citi sold the account to regular monthly payments. I was trying to settle with them mid summer 2015. Then by late summer or early fall the account was closed and taken over by a collection agency. 

 

[TC6558]

I was 2 or 3 months behind when I was trying to settle.

 

Here is the arbitration agreement.

I took pictures of it in sections. Hopefully it is easier to read 

 

 

 

 

[Brotherskeeper]

Bat Signal for @BV80, @fisthardcheese, @CCRP626, @debtzapper @shellieh98 

@TC6558 is being sued for $1300 by JDB. (OC is Citifinancial; debt sold to 2, possibly 3, entities.) This suit is not in small claims. Can you please interpret this clause?  Can OP motion to compel arb? Thanks!

"Claims Excluded from Arbitration. Neither You nor We may require the other to arbitrate the following types of matters:

• Any Claim where all parties collectively (including multiple named parties) seek monetary relief in the aggregate of $15,000.00 or less in total relief, including but not limited to compensatory, statutory and punitive damages, restitution, rescission, disgorgement, costs and fees (including attorneys' fees); or any Claim brought in and subject to the jurisdiction of a small claims court, so long as such matter remains in such court and advances only an individual, non-class Claim. . . . In the event that any party fails to specify the amount being sought for any relief, or any form or any component of relief, the amount being sought shall, for purposes of this exclusion, be deemed to exceed $15,000.00, unless the matter remains in and subject to the jurisdiction of the small claims court."

[CCRP626]

Do you have any counterclaims? TCPA @$500 per call will quickly get the total up there. If you think you have some violations of TCPA, FDCPA, FCRA or any Michigan consumer protection laws tally them up. If you're not sure what the total is at this time this clause seems to be in your favor while you get a total: In the event that any party fails to specify the amount being sought for any relief, or any form or any component of relief, the amount being sought shall, for purposes of this exclusion, be deemed to exceed $15,000.00 .

I think you can MTC Arb per the agreement.

CVI Loan GT trust I - some of these JDBs are coming up with titles that would make an exotic sports car proud.

Is this a real estate related loan? If so, you may want to schedule a consult with a consumer attorney since there is most likely a lot of regulations/paperwork they (back to the original creditor) had to follow to the letter to be in compliance with the laws.

[fisthardcheese]

Not being in small claims court makes this a very easy MTC for me. 

2 hours ago, Brotherskeeper said:

In the event that any party fails to specify the amount being sought for any relief, or any form or any component of relief, the amount being sought shall, for purposes of this exclusion, be deemed to exceed $15,000.00

My MTC will not specify an amount of relief I am seeking in arbitration, therefore, they must assume according to the contract that the amount will be greater than $15k.   Once the court orders arbitration, the amount pretty much becomes a moot point so you can put whatever you want on the AAA demand form and email it in.

For me, personally, I would put $15,000.02 on my AAA demand form as the claim amount just because that's the type of thing I like to do with JDBs.   However, that step would be after an MTC is already granted, so for that matter I could put $0.25 as my claim amount because I already have a court order to arbitrate.

[fisthardcheese]

Also, you could very well have an FDCPA violation for increasing your alleged balance by around $200 - especailly since they told you this includes court costs.  They can not legally add court costs to an alleged debt unless and until those costs are actually asigned to be paid by you from the court.

I would just use this violation as the basis of my AAA claim when I filed my arbitration case.  I do not ever mention THEIR claims against me when I file, I only file as if I am the one suing them in arbitration for the FDCPA violations.  It will then be on them to file a counter claim for what they are suing you for.  Sometimes they don't know they have to do that and never even file their claims against you.

[Brotherskeeper]

5 minutes ago, fisthardcheese said:

Not being in small claims court makes this a very easy MTC for me. 

My MTC will not specify an amount of relief I am seeking in arbitration, therefore, they must assume according to the contract that the amount will be greater than $15k.   Once the court orders arbitration, the amount pretty much becomes a moot point so you can put whatever you want on the AAA demand form and email it in.

For me, personally, I would put $15,000.02 on my AAA demand form as the claim amount just because that's the type of thing I like to do with JDBs.   However, that step would be after an MTC is already granted, so for that matter I could put $0.25 as my claim amount because I already have a court order to arbitrate.

@fisthardcheese

If OP motions to compel the court he's being sued in, won't plaintiff argue it "may not be required" to arbitrate this claim without OP filing counterclaims in his answer? OP has not answered yet. I was thinking he could MTC in lieu of answer.

[Brotherskeeper]

@fisthardcheese

Look at the Affidavit of Ownership Exhibit A at #4 "Plaintiff's business records indicate that owners of the account include : Citifinancial Inc and CVI Loan GT Trust I."

Have you ever seen this before? OP said this account was sold to Green Tree by Citifinancial. This CVI Trust has the same address and suite number as Resurgent Capital. 

[fisthardcheese]

6 minutes ago, Brotherskeeper said:

@fisthardcheese

If OP motions to compel the court he's being sued in, won't plaintiff argue it "may not be required" to arbitrate this claim without OP filing counterclaims in his answer? OP has not answered yet. I was thinking he could MTC in lieu of answer.

Actually I forgot the more important piece.  The very start of the paragraph says they will not REQUIRE arbitration for under $15k.  That's cool, you don't have to require it, I am simply asking for it.  So the court can grant my MTC and stay the case.

Additionally, this is my favorite Citi contract because notice how they list NAF and AAA as the choice of arb, but later they state that you can appeal with JAMS.   They did a cut-and-paste job with the sections and have no clue that once I get a ruling from a AAA arbitrator, I am going to re-file the case in JAMS and ask for a 3-arbitrator appeal panel.  LOL!!