Being sued by Capital One [Illinois]

[DucoNihilum]

Hi all, I am being sued by Capital One in Illinois. I successfully fought and won a lawsuit 2-3 years ago when the debt was bought by a JDB, this time I feel more intimidated because I am being sued by the OC. Below is a summary of what I am working with. I would prefer to win the suit as I can not afford payments and do NOT want a judgement on my credit.

 

1. I was summoned to court, I do not have the opportunity to file an 'answer', so I have to be in court in about 2 weeks. Last time this was just a preliminary proceeding.

 

2. C1 claims amount of ~4000 dollars.

 

3. Complaint is boilerplate. Defendant utilized a charge account or line of credit which was opened dec 2014 (within SOL of my state). failed to make minimum payments, etc.

 

4. Attached is an affidavit from a 'Diane Trittipoe', in Virginia.  She states she is an employee of COSLLC, an affiliate of C1 working an a litigation support rep. She states she has "personal knowledge" of the matter and method by which capital one creates and maintains certain business books and records. The most interesting part of this to me is that she states "The books and records of Capital One show that Defendant is/are currently indebted to Capital One on account number XXXXXX (Note: This is literally what is on the form, the account # is not listed on the affidavit!)

 

5. Another attachment, showing the last statement. Shows last 4 of account number. Amount of balance on this statement matches amount being sued for.

 

6. Another attachment which is a copy of a statement saying 'your account has been charged off'

 

7. 2 more attachments are related to my lack of military service.

 

 

What is my best strategy here? What information should I gather? What is my best plan of attack? Will the person who wrote the affidavit have to show up in court, or can they go off this? Note she does not say she has personal knowledge of my account, only their business practices. Also note they are in Virginia, which is quite a distance from IL.

 

Another question is that I may be moving to New York in April. I am not sure when the next court date will be after my first, but last time it was scheduled several months in advance- so what are my options if this happens? Any help would be appreciated, and thank you very much!

[Clydesmom]

4 hours ago, DucoNihilum said:

What information should I gather? What is my best plan of attack?

Do you have any actual defenses?   The account is yours and the SOL very much active.  Cap1 is an aggressive litigator and will pursue this.  Short of identity theft or the balance is completely wrong there are no real defenses to an OC lawsuit.  

Arbitration is not even an option.  Cap1 removed that in 2010 4 years prior to your opening the account so there isn't even the option of a survivability clause.

4 hours ago, DucoNihilum said:

Will the person who wrote the affidavit have to show up in court, or can they go off this?

Only a handful of states like California require a live witness.  I do not believe IL is one of them but double check.  If it is not then they can use the affidavit and Cap1 is more than capable of certifying their own records under the business records rules.

4 hours ago, DucoNihilum said:

Note she does not say she has personal knowledge of my account, only their business practices. Also note they are in Virginia, which is quite a distance from IL.

She doesn't have to have personal knowledge of your account only their practices.  Where she is located is also not relevant.  They do not have to use an employee in IL.

4 hours ago, DucoNihilum said:

Another question is that I may be moving to New York in April. I am not sure when the next court date will be after my first, but last time it was scheduled several months in advance- so what are my options if this happens?

Returning back to IL for the trial or hiring a lawyer to represent  you.  Because they have filed timely and before you relocated the entire process will play out in IL even if you move during it.

4 hours ago, DucoNihilum said:

What is my best strategy here?

Settling.