Being sued by JDB

[Daytona365]

I was served with a summons recently from a JDB.

The amount in question is under $2,000.

My Citi contract has an arbitration clause that states:

"We’ll pay your share of the arbitration fee for an arbitration of Claims
of $75,000 or less if they are unrelated to debt collection. Otherwise,
arbitration fees will be allocated according to the applicable AAA
Rules."

What are the allocated fees under the AAA rules?

I plan to file a MTC. Any suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

[Harry Seaward]

3 hours ago, Daytona365 said:

What are the allocated fees under the AAA rules?

AAA rules expressly say the consumer is not liable for any arb fees beyond the initial $200 filing fee. 

The bigger problem you face is the Citi arb agreement prohibits the use of arbitration in cases filed in "small claims" court. It looks like New Jersey has a specific court called "small claims" that handles disputes up to $3,000, and also seems to allow lawyers to represent the parties.

[Daytona365]

Thanks for your response.

We do have Small Claims Court, but the JDB filed in the Special Civil Part of the Law Division. The Special Civil Part handles claims up to $15,000.

 

[Harry Seaward]

Fantastic! I'd absolutely be using arbitration then.

[Daytona365]

Good morning,

 

I filed the MTC arbitration with the court.  Should I start the AAA process, or wait for the motion to be granted? 

Also, can JDB request that the case be transferred to small claims court?

 

[Harry Seaward]

 

2 hours ago, Daytona365 said:

Should I start the AAA process, or wait for the motion to be granted?

I generally say wait unless the court has granted a stay of proceedings specifically to allow the parties time to start arbitration. 

2 hours ago, Daytona365 said:

Also, can JDB request that the case be transferred to small claims court?

Probably not. Most of the time JDBs will file in the lowest court available to them. If they don't file in small claims court it usually means they can't for some reason, like lawyers aren't allowed in small claims court, for example.