Being Sued in Georgia Magistrate by Midland on former Dell/Webbank Account

[BenTheRN]

Greetings everyone! This is my first post in this forum, although I have been lurking here for quite some time. I was served on a Civil Suit by Greene & Cooper LLP on behalf of Midland Funding in Carroll County Magistrate Court. In studying the credit agreement that governs the account, I feel that I have a strong angle to use with binding individual arbitration through JAMS. Here are the particulars of the case in hopes that I can solicit some help and guidance along the way. My answer is due by 6/17/16.

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.)

Greene and Cooper LLP

3. How much are you being sued for?

$2,038.25

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

Dell Financial Services L.L.C/Webbank

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

I was 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

Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint

8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?

No contact whatsoever. The interesting thing is that the original statement of claim was filed in December of 2014, but I was not served until 5/18/16

9. What state and county do you live in?

Georgia (Carroll County)

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

01/15/2011

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

6 Years

Statute of Limitations on Debts

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).

I would say simply that the suit has been served at this time. I am going to mail a notice of arbitration election letter to the JDB and their Attorney tomorrow, the text of which will be in a later post.

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

Yes

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 contact with JDB prior to them filing the suit.

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?

30 days to answer from 5/18/16 (Must file answer by 6/17/16)

Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits

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

Exhibit A - Customer Account Infomation - Historical Billing Statement

Exhibit B - Bill of Sale from Dell Financial Services L.L.C. to Midland Funding LLC (Note: Mentions certain "purchased accounts described in Exhibit A," The last page on Exhibit B is titled "Schedule 1 to Bill of Sale dated January 26, 2012."

The next line reads:

Accounts specifically identified in the following file: Web List asset sale 2012.xslx

The next line reads:

Web List asset sale 2012.xslx is saved and encrypted on WebEx at the following path: Dell Compliance/Asset Transfer

Next Document is Affadavit of Sale of Accounts by Original Creditor (Again, my account not specifically mentioned in the affadavit) - Webbank, signed by someone in Utah

Next Document is Exhibit A-1 to Bill of Sale. It reads, "The purchased accounts are the charged off accounts that are included in the file named DFS_Encore_Primary_Recall_201201.txt, and dated January 29, 2012, which is defined in the agreement as the purchased accounts file."

Next Document is Affadavit of Sale of Accounts by Debt Seller (Again, only mentions a "pool" of charged off accounts, nothing about mine specifically)- Dell Financial Services, signed by someone in Texas

Exhibit C looks to be a customer account information page that includes my name, address, account #, account open date, charge off date, charge off amount, sale amount, last payment date, and last payment amount.

Exhibit D looks like the garden-variety Robo signed affidavit. This one is "Affidavit of Mary Pikkaraine," who apparently is in St. Cloud, MN

 

Dell Cardmember Agreement (which contains an Arbitration Provision) is attached to this post. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

 

Dell Cardmember Agreement.pdf

[BenTheRN]

This is the Notice of Arbitration Election Letter that I plan to send to the JDB and their Attorney (Along with the Demand for Arbitration Before JAMS Form) tomorrow:

Today's Date

 

 

 

Junk Debt Buyer

 

Their Address

 

 

 

Junk Debt Buyer's Attorney

 

Their Address

 

 

RE: Civil Action # (My Case Number)

 

 

 

NOTICE OF ARBITRATION ELECTION

 

 

 

Be advised that pursuant to Page 8, Paragraph 1, under “ARBITRATION NOTICE” of The Dell Preferred Account Credit Agreement that governs this alleged account, I hereby elect binding individual arbitration through JAMS to resolve all disputes between us. A copy of the Demand for Arbitration Before JAMS is attached, as is a copy of the cardholder agreement.

 

The agreement states that “If either party chooses to arbitrate a claim, neither party will have the right to litigate that claim in court or to have a jury trial on that claim, or to participate in a class action or representative action with respect to such claim.”

 

The agreement further states that, “For the purposes of this arbitration provision, the terms “we” and “us” shall mean WebBank and Dell Financial Services L.L.C., their parents, direct and indirect subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, predecessors, successors, assigns and any purchaser of the Account or any receivables arising from the use of the Account, and each of their respective employees, directors, and representatives.”

 

The agreement further states that, “In any arbitration, we will pay the entire amount of the arbitration fees, including any required deposit. Each party shall be initially responsible for payment of their own attorney fees, witness fees and similar expenses.”

 

The agreement further states that, “This arbitration provision shall survive termination of your Account as well as the repayment of all amounts you owe under the Agreement.”

 

Per the terms of the arbitration provision, by exercising my right to elect binding individual arbitration, this may not be litigated in court. Accordingly, I demand that you dismiss the court action referenced above and strictly adhere to the applicable rules and procedures as outlined in the credit agreement that governs the account.

 

In addition, all phone calls are inconvenient at all times. Henceforth, all communications regarding this matter shall be made by regular mail.

 

Me

My Address

 

 

Certified Return Receipt #_________________________

 

[debtzapper]

We have had a lot of success with GA defendants using arbitration.  Read all posts by @fisthardcheese who is from GA until he comes along.

[nobk4me]

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

Yours truly

 

You are the defendant, not the plaintiff.  The plaintiff is the party suing you, which appears to be Midland  Funding.

[NormInGeorgia]

Since the balance is only about $2000, I think arbitration is the way to go.   But you still need to make absolutely sure that you take an Answer document to the court clerks office denying the plaintiff's claims BEFORE the deadline.    

[CCRP626]

@NormInGeorgia @fisthardcheese these Dell user agreements fall under the UCC with a security interest. Do they get a 4 year SOL?

http://www.lawcmc.com/time-limits-on-contracts-atlanta-bankruptcy-lawyer/

[BenTheRN]

Good catch nobk4me. I guess in my haste to get the topic posted, I didn't catch that. I have amended my original post now.

[BenTheRN]

2 hours ago, NormInGeorgia said:

Since the balance is only about $2000, I think arbitration is the way to go.   But you still need to make absolutely sure that you take an Answer document to the court clerks office denying the plaintiff's claims BEFORE the deadline.    

 

 

 

Norm,

That is what I am working on now. I am at a bit of a loss as to how exactly to go about it though, as the Magistrate Clerk was about as clueless as the day is long when asked about whether I could include my MTC Arb in my answer to the complaint, or if I would have to request a hearing. I know, without question, that I must answer/deny the complaint. The question is, in Georgia Magistrate Court proceedings, can I file the MTC Arb with my answer, or is a motion typically made for another hearing to grant that?

Also, I was hoping to find good time tested Answer and MTC Arb Templates that folks have used with success in the past that I could possibly modify for my purposes here.

[BV80]

@BenTheRN

@NormInGeorgia

 

Good catch, @CCRP626 I agree that the 4-year SOL should apply if the contract was based upon the purchase of a Dell computer.  According to the following ruling, a sales contract for which the primary purpose is the sale of goods, the SOL is 4 years.   (§ 11-2-725.  Statute of limitations in contracts for sale)

If he had taken out a loan with a bank to purchase a computer and the bank wanted the computer as collateral, then the primary purpose of the contract would be to create a security interest which would result in a 6-year SOL.

Venable v. SunTRUST Bank (GA Court of Appeals, 2015)

"To determine whether a sales contract is governed by Article 2, "we must look to the primary or overall purpose of the transaction." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. (applying the "primary purpose" test to determine whether the purpose of a contract is to settle litigation or sell goods). Since the instant contract contained both sale and security elements, we must ascertain its primary purpose."

"Although the contract gave SunTrust a security interest in the vehicle, it was not intended to operate only as a security transaction because the financing provision was incidental to the sales contract. Thus, the contract here was not exempt from Article 2 under OCGA § 11-2-102. It is also clear that the primary purpose of the conditional sales contract that Venable entered into was the sale of goods."

"The six-year statute of limitation will apply when the primary purpose of the contract at issue is the creation of a security interest.   For example, in Almand v. Reynolds & Robin, PC, 485 FSupp2d 1361, 1365 (M.D. Ga. 2007), the plaintiff procured a bank loan and then used the proceeds from the loan to purchase a vehicle; the plaintiff did not purchase the vehicle from the bank. The federal court held that Almand's promissory note or loan agreement was not governed by Article 2 because it was only a secured transaction.

Since the instant case concerns a contract that is predominantly a sales contract, rather than strictly a loan, the six-year statute of limitation is inapplicable."

The OP should claim a violation of the FDCPA along with any applicable violation(s) of GA Code.

 

[BenTheRN]

15 minutes ago, BV80 said:

@BenTheRN

@NormInGeorgia

 

Good catch, @CCRP626 I agree that the 4-year SOL should apply if the contract was based upon the purchase of a Dell computer.  According to the following ruling, a sales contract for which the primary purpose is the sale of goods, the SOL is 4 years.   (§ 11-2-725.  Statute of limitations in contracts for sale)

If he had taken out a loan with a bank to purchase a computer and the bank wanted the computer as collateral, then the primary purpose of the contract would be to create a security interest which would result in a 6-year SOL.

Venable v. SunTRUST Bank (GA Court of Appeals, 2015)

"To determine whether a sales contract is governed by Article 2, "we must look to the primary or overall purpose of the transaction." (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. (applying the "primary purpose" test to determine whether the purpose of a contract is to settle litigation or sell goods). Since the instant contract contained both sale and security elements, we must ascertain its primary purpose."

"Although the contract gave SunTrust a security interest in the vehicle, it was not intended to operate only as a security transaction because the financing provision was incidental to the sales contract. Thus, the contract here was not exempt from Article 2 under OCGA § 11-2-102. It is also clear that the primary purpose of the conditional sales contract that Venable entered into was the sale of goods."

"The six-year statute of limitation will apply when the primary purpose of the contract at issue is the creation of a security interest.   For example, in Almand v. Reynolds & Robin, PC, 485 FSupp2d 1361, 1365 (M.D. Ga. 2007), the plaintiff procured a bank loan and then used the proceeds from the loan to purchase a vehicle; the plaintiff did not purchase the vehicle from the bank. The federal court held that Almand's promissory note or loan agreement was not governed by Article 2 because it was only a secured transaction.

Since the instant case concerns a contract that is predominantly a sales contract, rather than strictly a loan, the six-year statute of limitation is inapplicable."

The OP should claim a violation of the FDCPA along with any applicable violation(s) of GA Code.

 

 

Interesting. My only question with regard to this is the issue of when the last payment was made relative to when the complaint was originally filed. The last payment made on the account was 1/15/2011, and the original court filing was in December of 2014. I was a bit of a nomad for a while there and moved 3 times within a period of 3 years, so I was not actually served with the complaint until 5/18/16, about 17 months after the original complaint was filed. Would that negate such a claim on my behalf?

[BV80]

5 minutes ago, BenTheRN said:

Interesting. My only question with regard to this is the issue of when the last payment was made relative to when the complaint was originally filed. The last payment made on the account was 1/15/2011, and the original court filing was in December of 2014. I was a bit of a nomad for a while there and moved 3 times within a period of 3 years, so I was not actually served with the complaint until 5/18/16, about 17 months after the original complaint was filed. Would that negate such a claim on my behalf?

Well, it might depend upon how diligent the plaintiff was in trying to locate you in order to serve the complaint.

When a complaint is filed within the applicable statute of limitation but service is perfected more than five days after the statute [of limitation] expires, the service relates back to the original filing only if the plaintiff shows that he acted in a reasonable and diligent manner in attempting to insure that a proper service was made as quickly as possible.  Parker v. Shreve, 244 Ga.App. 350, 535 S.E.2d 332 (2000).

I'd go ahead and claim a violation.  It will up to the plaintiff to prove they did their best to locate you "as quickly as possible".

[CCRP626]

@BV80 great job with all the research, you're like a law library from the comforts of home.

[BV80]

1 hour ago, CCRP626 said:

@BV80 great job with all the research, you're like a law library from the comforts of home.

Thank you.  You do more than your share of research, so I can say the same about you. 

[BenTheRN]

Again, great stuff BV80! Can you advise on filing an answer and a MTC Arbitration? This is where things stand as of right now...I sent the Notice of Arbitration Election Letter via Certified Mail with return receipt on Thursday to both the JDB and their Attorney. Per JAMS instructions, I included the Demand for Arbitration Before JAMS Application, as well as a copy of the cardholder agreement that I was able to find. I did not send the JDB or their attorney an affidavit for the cardholder agreement, but I do have one ready to go for court filing purposes. I would expect that both the JDB and Attorney will receive the documents early this week, and I plan to mail the required JAMS paperwork to the nearest resolution center (Atlanta) once I receive confirmation of delivery.

From that point, I am not sure how to proceed with filing the answer/MTC. I'd like to find some templates that others have had success with in the past that I can modify and paraphrase to my needs. I must file my answer by Friday 6/17. Do you have any resources (templates/forms) like that?

Also, with regard to the answer and affirmative defenses, should I list the aforementioned SOL violation as one of those? Any suggestions on other good affirmative defenses I could use in this case? Thanks in advance!

[BV80]

@BenTheRN

@fisthardcheeseis the resident arbitration pro.   He can tell exactly how to go about it, what to file, etc.   You may not need to file an answer.  If your contract mentions the Federal Arbitration Act, here's a start for you.

 

 

[fisthardcheese]

I wouldn't bother with sending any letters.  Magistrate court is essentially court by ambush.  The normal court rules do not apply.  Magistrate has its own set of rules, but even within those Magistrate rules it literally states that the Magistrate Judge may do whatever they want even if its not in the rules.  This is why pathetic attorneys like Green & Cooper use Magistrate court to crank out hundreds of judgements each month.  Unfortunately, in Carrol County it is even worse as the Judge is probably going to be part of the "good ol boy" network who regularly golfs with the attorneys and bankers you are fighting against.  Now with that said, you can still beat them.  Green & Cooper are not as crazy as other JDB attorneys. I have beat them in Magistrate before.

The biggest thing you need to do is file an answer with the court within 20 days from the day you were served.  This does not need to be complicated or wordy.  I would simply deny everything that the Plaintiff alleged in their complaint.  The court likely even has a form you can fill out to deny the allegations to make it very easy.  Once you file the answer, the clerk will set a court date. Usually it is for about 30 days out.  This will give you plenty of time to learn about arbitration and put together an MTC.

I would bring the MTC to court with me along with a copy of the card agreement.  I would make sure I know what the card agreement says about arbitration, as the attorney may attempt to trip you up by saying that the agreement does not apply to them or other nonsense.  You will know that is not true if you have read the agreement and can stand firm in telling them you want arbitration.  In Magistrate court, the attorneys will meet with you before you go in front of a judge.  This is where they attempt to scare you, lie to you and force some kind of stipulated judgement as a settlement agreement.  Just keep saying you are filing arbitration and asking the judge to grant your MTC.  Give them a copy of your MTC.  Often, this is where the case ends as they may agree to dismiss the case.  If they don't, you will have to explain the same thing to the judge and give him a copy of your MTC also.  The MTC examples on this board (which I have posted many times, as have others), cites case law from the Supreme Court that states you have a right to arbitration and that it should be honored when present in a contract.  Cite that to the judge and hopefully he will grant your MTC.

[BenTheRN]

18 minutes ago, fisthardcheese said:

I wouldn't bother with sending any letters.  Magistrate court is essentially court by ambush.  The normal court rules do not apply.  Magistrate has its own set of rules, but even within those Magistrate rules it literally states that the Magistrate Judge may do whatever they want even if its not in the rules.  This is why pathetic attorneys like Green & Cooper use Magistrate court to crank out hundreds of judgements each month.  Unfortunately, in Carrol County it is even worse as the Judge is probably going to be part of the "good ol boy" network who regularly golfs with the attorneys and bankers you are fighting against.  Now with that said, you can still beat them.  Green & Cooper are not as crazy as other JDB attorneys. I have beat them in Magistrate before.

The biggest thing you need to do is file an answer with the court within 20 days from the day you were served.  This does not need to be complicated or wordy.  I would simply deny everything that the Plaintiff alleged in their complaint.  The court likely even has a form you can fill out to deny the allegations to make it very easy.  Once you file the answer, the clerk will set a court date. Usually it is for about 30 days out.  This will give you plenty of time to learn about arbitration and put together an MTC.

I would bring the MTC to court with me along with a copy of the card agreement.  I would make sure I know what the card agreement says about arbitration, as the attorney may attempt to trip you up by saying that the agreement does not apply to them or other nonsense.  You will know that is not true if you have read the agreement and can stand firm in telling them you want arbitration.  In Magistrate court, the attorneys will meet with you before you go in front of a judge.  This is where they attempt to scare you, lie to you and force some kind of stipulated judgement as a settlement agreement.  Just keep saying you are filing arbitration and asking the judge to grant your MTC.  Give them a copy of your MTC.  Often, this is where the case ends as they may agree to dismiss the case.  If they don't, you will have to explain the same thing to the judge and give him a copy of your MTC also.  The MTC examples on this board (which I have posted many times, as have others), cites case law from the Supreme Court that states you have a right to arbitration and that it should be honored when present in a contract.  Cite that to the judge and hopefully he will grant your MTC.

 

 

I have already sent the Notice to Elect Arbitration Letter, along with the Demand for Arbitration Before JAMS letter (with a copy of the card agreement referenced above) to both the JDB and Greene & Cooper. It is already done, I sent it out on Thursday via Certified Mail with Return Receipt. Once I get confirmation of receipt, I had planned to go ahead and send everything in to JAMS, so as to create more leverage for myself. I think the biggest question I had was whether I simply needed to deny the complaint in my answer, or to go ahead and file the MTC at that time. I have never done this before, so I have very little knowledge of the procedural rules for filing a MTC in Magistrate Court. I believe that the way Magistrate works out here is that they typically have some kind of mandatory court-ordered mediation, which, given my strategy to leverage them with the threat of arbitration, I really have no interest in doing if I don't have to. One thing that caught my attention in your reply above was the note about filing the answer within 20 days from the date I was served. I thought I had 30 days from the date I was served?

[Clydesmom]

Most of the Magistrate Courts use pre-printed forms where you just check off deny and ask for a trial. Go ahead and answer this now there's no reason to file a formal answer like other courts in other states require.You can file the motion to compel arbitration now, but nothing will happen to it until the day of trial.   Until you file an answer or the time  to file an answer elapses Magistrate Court won't set a trial date.  Unlike other courts,  Magistrate Court will not hear your motion to compel separately and will do it on the date they set for trial.  There is no Mandatory arbitration or mediation in Magistrate Court It is simply sending you to the hallway with the attorney hoping that you'll agree to settle so that they don't have to render a decision Just bring the motion with you on the date the court sets.

[fisthardcheese]

@Clydesmom is correct.  Not only do you not need to file the MTC before the hearing date, but even if you did no one would acknowledge it and you would still need to bring copies on your court date anyway.  Just the same that the attorney for the JDB will completely ignore your letter and JAMS demand.  Do not be surprised when you show up to court and the attorney you talk to has no idea you sent anything or asked for arb at all.  Be prepared to hand him your MTC and copy of the card agreement as well as the JAMS demand forms.

You are welcome to start a JAMS case now, but if this were me I would not send any money into JAMS for the filing fee at this time.  I haven't read the Dell agreement, so it may say they pay the fee anyway, but just in case it doesn't, I would stall on payment until after I see what happens at the court hearing.

You are likely correct that you have 30 days to answer.  I have 20 days on my mind from dealing with other courts recently.  But, again, as @clydesmom said, there is no need to prepare some big formal answer.  You can just show up to the court and say you are there to answer a suit. They will give you the form that you can just check "deny" on and sign.  It's that easy.

[NormInGeorgia]

Everything that @Clydesmom and @fisthardcheese stated is 100% correct.    Treat your Answer and the MTC as two separate items.   

@BV80  WOW, that is outstanding info regarding Venable v. SunTRUST Bank (GA Court of Appeals, 2015)  !!!!    @BenTheRN  do the research on this precedent and it will probably benefit you greatly.  You can definitely mention the SOL violation in your Answer if you want to, just so it's documented.  

You can look through my old posts to see some example Answers, but using the court's pre-printed form is just as good.   Just deny deny deny on your Answer.  I never was fortunate enough to be able to argue an SOL violation.  When I did arb it was the AAA instead of JAMS.   Again, @fisthardcheese is the guru of arbitration.

Of course, I never got to actual arbitration because they settled first instead of paying the arbitration fees. 

[NormInGeorgia]

On 6/4/2016 at 11:26 AM, CCRP626 said:

@NormInGeorgia @fisthardcheese these Dell user agreements fall under the UCC with a security interest. Do they get a 4 year SOL?

http://www.lawcmc.com/time-limits-on-contracts-atlanta-bankruptcy-lawyer/

The prevailing wisdom has always been to assume the 6-year SOL in all cases.   BUT,  @BV80  has provided some outstanding info regarding 'Venable v. SunTRUST Bank (GA Court of Appeals, 2015)' that appears to show there are some debts that qualify for the 4-year SOL.   This is great news.

[BenTheRN]

Great information here! So, if I were to make reference to the possible SOL violation that @BV80 pointed out, would that need to be in the form of a counterclaim in the answer? If so, can anybody advise as to how to best go about incorporating that into my answer? Does anybody have any good counterclaim examples? If I remember correctly, if the defendant files a counterclaim, it cannot be ignored by the plaintiff - and must be answered, correct?

[fisthardcheese]

7 hours ago, BenTheRN said:

Great information here! So, if I were to make reference to the possible SOL violation that @BV80 pointed out, would that need to be in the form of a counterclaim in the answer? If so, can anybody advise as to how to best go about incorporating that into my answer? Does anybody have any good counterclaim examples? If I remember correctly, if the defendant files a counterclaim, it cannot be ignored by the plaintiff - and must be answered, correct?

Do not counter claim if you plan on using arbitration.  You must choose one and go with that method.  Any counter claims you have should be brought in your arbitration claim if that is the route you wish to take.  Or you may choose to skip arb and file the counter claim in court and go that route.

To answer your question, No.  An answer is not required for a counter claim.  They will ignore it just as they do everything else until the day you show up for the court hearing.  The reason is simply, they will continue to believe that you will not show up for court and then they get the easy default judgement against you.  That is their goal.  Even if you tell them 100% you will be there in court, they won't care.  Maybe you get a flat tire on the way to court and they will ask for a default judgement in their favor.  That is what they bank on ... and they are right 99% of the time.

[NormInGeorgia]

1 hour ago, fisthardcheese said:

Do not counter claim if you plan on using arbitration.  You must choose one and go with that method.  Any counter claims you have should be brought in your arbitration claim if that is the route you wish to take.  Or you may choose to skip arb and file the counter claim in court and go that route.

To answer your question, No.  An answer is not required for a counter claim.  They will ignore it just as they do everything else until the day you show up for the court hearing.  The reason is simply, they will continue to believe that you will not show up for court and then they get the easy default judgement against you.  That is their goal.  Even if you tell them 100% you will be there in court, they won't care.  Maybe you get a flat tire on the way to court and they will ask for a default judgement in their favor.  That is what they bank on ... and they are right 99% of the time.

What @fisthardcheese states is absolutely correct.   (I got a little overexcited about someone in Georgia being able to use the 4-year SOL argument.)  You have started down the arbitration path so stick with that.  Do not file a counterclaim.  Just do the plain Answer document denying the plaintiff's claims.   Simplest way is to fill out a pre-printed Answer form for your county and deny the claims ,  make 3 copies, take them to the clerk's office and sign it in front of the clerk, they will stamp all copies and keep one of them for the file.  You keep the other two.   At the same time, do the same thing with your MTC document.    

Then the court will let you know the date of the "trial".  Make sure you show up.  That is when the lawyer will talk to you in the hallway to try to bully you into admitting you owe the debt (don't give in) and you can give them a copy of your MTC documentation.     

[NormInGeorgia]

@BenTheRN  What is the status of your case?