Being sued twice for the same debt

[dingsec]

Hi everyone.

My story is the same as many other people. Ran into some bad luck last year, things got out of hand and a couple credit cards went unpaid.

Well, now I am being sued. Here's the thing though, they filed two lawsuits against me, days apart for the exact same debt in the same court. I looked over them and it's definitely the same card, debt, ect. The paperwork is even identical except for the case number and file stamps.

There are definitely two different lawsuits. I thought maybe it was a screw up with the court. But the case numbers are different, as are the filing stamp dates. Maybe it's either an accident on the law firms end. I also feel like they possibly did this on purpose, hoping I'd only answer one.

I tried researching it to see if there are any laws or case law against this. But I couldn't find anything that really matched my specific case. Most google results are about case submitted years apart.

I've been through this before, so I have an ok handle on how to answer the summons and what to do on that end. But I'm wondering if there is something else I should be doing. This just doesn't seem right to me. 

I'm in Kansas.

 

 

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding 

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Brumbaugh & Quandahl

3. How much are you being sued for? Between 500-700

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

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) I saw it on the the county court website (I check regularly because I am going through something else with the court and saw it pop up). I have not been served yet and I am unsure if I will be served. The lawsuit lists an old address. I still live in the jurisdiction of the lawsuit. The paperwork was assigned to the Sheriff's office to serve. I am unsure how much effort they will put into attempting to track me down to my correct address. So I may not get served, but I am planning on it eventually.

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) N/A

7. Was the service legal as required by your state? N/A

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? Johnson County KS

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) March 2017

11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2013ish

12. What is the SOL on the debt? 5 years

13. 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 filed, petition issued to Sheriff's office

14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No

15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No

16. 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? April 26th 2018

17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Not sure yet

Edited April 3, 2018 by dingsec
Added information

[fisthardcheese]

Who is suing you?  If it is a debt buyer, who was the OC?  What is the general amount they are suing for?

This is one where you might want to call a few consumer attorneys who do FDCPA work and run this by them first.  You might find one who believes this is a strong enough violation of law to take your case with no up front cost to you.  It may be worth a shot, anyway before dealing with it on your own.

[1stStep]

This may be an FDCPA violation on the law firm... could also be a UDAAP violation if still with the original creditor.

Speak to a lawyer

[dingsec]

It's a jdb, Midland Funding. They are sueing for under $700

[fisthardcheese]

With Midland, I would definitely want to check with a few attorneys and see if one wants to help you out with this. 

If you can't find one that wants to help for no out of pocket costs, then I would prepare to file an answer for both cases that denies all of their claims.  I would then call the attorney listed on these cases and tell them that they filed the case case twice and ask that they dismiss one of the cases.  Let us know their response to this and we can advise further. 

Does the Original Account have an arbitration clause in the card agreement?

[dingsec]

There is an arbitration agreement. It is gamestop, comenity bank. My understanding of the agreement is that it's pretty favorable to me. I can initiate arbitration at any time, even if a lawsuit is filed. The choice of arbitrator is by mutual agreement (AAA and JAMS are specifically mentioned). 

 

I appreciate your advice thus far. Since we are getting off topic a bit. I am going to include the questions that normally accompany lawsuit questions. I also also edit my initial post to include them.

 

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Midland Funding 

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Brumbaugh & Quandahl

3. How much are you being sued for? Between 500-700

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

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) I saw it on the the county court website (I check regularly because I am going through something else with the court and saw it pop up). I have not been served yet and I am unsure if I will be served. The lawsuit lists an old address. I still live in the jurisdiction of the lawsuit. The paperwork was assigned to the Sheriff's office to serve. I am unsure how much effort they will put into attempting to track me down to my correct address. So I may not get served, but I am planning on it eventually.

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) N/A

7. Was the service legal as required by your state? N/A

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? Johnson County KS

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) March 2017

11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2013ish

12. What is the SOL on the debt? 5 years

13. 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 filed, petition issued to Sheriff's office

14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No

15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). No

16. 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? April 26th 2018

17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Not sure yet

 

[BackFromTheDebt]

Normally, I would suggest filing in JAMS as a way to scare them off.  There is no way in Hades they will go through with this one, for $700, when you have claims against them for filing twice.  That is what I would normally suggest.  But the amount is so small, and they have some real liability, so that might not be the best option at this point.  (It may or may not be best later on.)

Fisthardcheese suggested talking to a consumer attorney.  That is NOT a bad idea at all.  There is a chance the lawyer could pocket a few thou, you could get $1000 and/or have the debt wiped out.  

Another possibility would be to contact the attorney who filed the case twice.  Offer a mutual walkaway on the spot -- both cases dismissed with prejudice in exchange for you not filing potentially expensive claims against them.  Make the deadline VERY soon, so you can run through your other options if they refuse or ignore you.  

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by BackFromTheDebt