Sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates in Massachusetts

[Venge97RI]

So i got this in May - Court date is next week :

 

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? - Portfolio Recovery Associates 

2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Lustig , Glaser & William 

3. How much are you being sued for? $2792

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

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) Mail 

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? - None 

9. What state and county do you live in? Middlesex County , MA

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations)8/14

11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 12/13

12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: 6 years in MA

Statute of Limitations on Debts

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). Served , no motions filed. Trial date on 7/19

14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) i dont believe i have 

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 disputing after being sued could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'). Not yet

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?

From what i've seen , there is no answer in MA Small Claims Court - No date for answer on the summons. just says you have to attend. 

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

17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. Nothing was attached. 

 

So , my questions are , one do i need to submit an answer? or should i just have some motions prepared for my date next week ? 

Is arbiration a possiblity at this point , or is that not an option with the 2013 Capital one accounts ( was it removed from their T&C)? 

 

what should my next steps be ?

[Clydesmom]

59 minutes ago, Venge97RI said:

So , my questions are , one do i need to submit an answer?

I think you CAN file an answer but it is not necessarily required.  Do NOT quote me on that as I could not find a specific clear answer.  I did find a pre-printed small claims answer form here:

https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/12/ps/answer-small-claims.pdf

1 hour ago, Venge97RI said:

or should i just have some motions prepared for my date next week ? 

You cannot just type up random motions and hope one sticks.  You have to have a legal basis for the motion.

1 hour ago, Venge97RI said:

Is arbiration a possiblity at this point , or is that not an option with the 2013 Capital one accounts ( was it removed from their T&C)? 

Unfortunately arbitration is not an option for you.  Cap1 did remove that from their card agreements in 2010.  Sorry.  You will have to defend this suit or settle it.

[Venge97RI]

 

Thanks for your response. its got me a little rattled but, nothing to lose by trying to defend myself. 

1 hour ago, Clydesmom said:

I think you CAN file an answer but it is not necessarily required.  Do NOT quote me on that as I could not find a specific clear answer.  I did find a pre-printed small claims answer form here:

https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/12/ps/answer-small-claims.pdf

Thanks , i saw that as well , and will have it prepared for my Date

Quote

You cannot just type up random motions and hope one sticks.  You have to have a legal basis for the motion.

I know , my plan was to have them prove they own the debt with the documentation ( discovery) if its allowed , since all i got in the mail was the actual summons 

Quote

Unfortunately arbitration is not an option for you.  Cap1 did remove that from their card agreements in 2010.  Sorry.  You will have to defend this suit or settle it.

Kind of what i thought , i'll defend as far as i can , and if i have to settle then i'll work out a payment plan. But i'm not going to just roll over on this and not show up