Sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates LLc

[rosendinho]

Help

being sued by Portfolio Recovery Associates in the justice court Precint 3 Place 1, Collin County Texas.

i was served at home on 4/4/2019, given 14 days to respond (Answer) 

Account with Best Buy was open 6/19/2015, suing me for $3,200

case was filed 3/26/2019

E. count 1 : Breach of contract

E. count 2: Account stated

My first instinct was to write to Portfolio to validate the debt, to which they responded with an Account statement from 8/8/2017. (not sure if it actually counts as validation)

I need help as to what to do, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[texasrocker]

What law firm filed this lawsuit?

For your answer use the same format as the Plaintiff's Original Petition that you were served with the court and case information on top of the page.

DEFENDANT'S ORIGINAL ANSWER

Comes now, <your name>, the Defendant in the above styled and numbered cause and files this Original Answer in this action and would respectfully show the following:

I.  GENERAL DENIAL

Defendant generally denies each and every, all and singular, of the allegations set forth in the Plaintiff's Original Petition and demands that the Plaintiff proves same by the preponderance of credible evidence.

II. PRAYER

Wherefore Defendant requests judgment of the Court that Plaintiff takes nothing from the Defendant and the Defendant be granted any further relief that he <or she> is justly entitled to.

(Your name, address and phone number)

File it with the court immediately and send a copy to the attorney's office that filed the lawsuit.

 

[rosendinho]

17 hours ago, texasrocker said:

What law firm filed this lawsuit?

For your answer use the same format as the Plaintiff's Original Petition that you were served with the court and case information on top of the page.

DEFENDANT'S ORIGINAL ANSWER

Comes now, <your name>, the Defendant in the above styled and numbered cause and files this Original Answer in this action and would respectfully show the following:

I.  GENERAL DENIAL

Defendant generally denies each and every, all and singular, of the allegations set forth in the Plaintiff's Original Petition and demands that the Plaintiff proves same by the preponderance of credible evidence.

II. PRAYER

Wherefore Defendant requests judgment of the Court that Plaintiff takes nothing from the Defendant and the Defendant be granted any further relief that he <or she> is justly entitled to.

(Your name, address and phone number)

File it with the court immediately and send a copy to the attorney's office that filed the lawsuit.

 

Law firm: Rausch Sturm

[rosendinho]

@texasrocker  took your advice and filed a general denial letter. I guess i need to wait and hear from the court.

what do you think the next step will be?

[texasrocker]

9 hours ago, rosendinho said:

@texasrocker  took your advice and filed a general denial letter. I guess i need to wait and hear from the court.

what do you think the next step will be?

Ask the court clerk how they would prefer you to go about getting approval to begin discovery.

[rosendinho]

i did just that, but they basically told me i have to file a motion for discovery and wait to see if the judge approves it.

Do you have any templates on how to file such a motion?

thanks

[texasrocker]

It is a motion asking for the court's approval to begin discovery.  There is no such thing in Texas as a "motion for discovery."

File this with the court in the same format as the petition you were served with the case and court information at the top.  Send a copy via certified mail to the attorney's office that filed the lawsuit.

                                                             MOTION SEEKING COURT'S PERMISSION TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY

Comes now,  Defendant ______________ and files his (or her) Motion to request permission from the honorable Court to begin Level 1 discovery pursuant to Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 190.2 and Rule 500.9

Defendant hereby asks to send Plaintiff Request for Disclosure (pursuant to TRCP Rule 194), request for admissions, production of documents, and interrogatories relative to how Plaintiff intends to prove up the assignment of the alleged debt they claim to own which is the subject of the lawsuit.  Defendant asserts that Plaintiff lacks standing to bring forth this lawsuit; therefore discovery is reasonable and necessary in order to develop his (her) defense and to minimize taking up the Court's valuable time.

                                                                                                                          PRAYER

Defendant prays that the honorable Court grant his (or her) Motion For Permission To Conduct Discovery and grant Defendant any other relief that he (or she) is entitled to.

                                                                                                            CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that I,__________________ sent a true and correct copy of  my MOTION SEEKING COURT'S PERMISSION TO CONDUCT DISCOVERY to _____________________________________ on _______, 2019.                                            

Signed, ______________________

<Your name address and phone number>

 

[rosendinho]

UPDATE:

Thanks for the template on Discovery( have not filed it yet)

Today a i received a 'NOTICE OF PRE-TRIAL MEDIATION'.   I recall the clerk mentioning most of their cases are put to mediation immediately after filed.

Today as well i received a letter from RAUSCH STURM which is the firm that sued on behalf of PRA looking for possible discussion on resolution of the matter.

 

Question.

1. should i still file for Discovery since they set up mediation?

2. can i contact Rausch sturm firm to see what they want exactly?

 

thanks

[Clydesmom]

5 hours ago, rosendinho said:

Today a i received a 'NOTICE OF PRE-TRIAL MEDIATION'.   I recall the clerk mentioning most of their cases are put to mediation immediately after filed.

Justice Court(s) started this about 2-3 years ago.  It is their way of cashing in and clearing the dockets.  The cost is $1000 and is split evenly between both parties.  This is NOT the same a private arbitration.

[rosendinho]

12 hours ago, Clydesmom said:

Justice Court(s) started this about 2-3 years ago.  It is their way of cashing in and clearing the dockets.  The cost is $1000 and is split evenly between both parties.  This is NOT the same a private arbitration.

can one still request private arbitration?

[Clydesmom]

On 5/7/2019 at 9:29 AM, rosendinho said:

can one still request private arbitration?

You can but they may require you to that expensive mediation first.

[cjtx2]

Not sure how it works in justice courts in Collin county and whether there is an extra charge. I know some county courts used to require you agree with the other party to your own mediation services or use the one the court proposed at whatever cost was set by the mediator, but lately, these county courts offer this service for free.

When a court orders mediation they usually accept other mediation venues, as long as you and the plaintiff agree.

For example, SMU offers mediation services in Plano and they cost $100 per party.

https://www.smu.edu/simmons/Community/MediationClinic/Mediation

[BV80]

Here are the TX statutes regarding mediation and costs.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.152.htm