Midland in California

[Inductive]

Good afternoon to everyone who is reading this. I was recently sued by Midland Funding LLC. I have never dealt with any type of lawsuit before, so this is a new area for me. For the past three weeks I have read threads upon threads in this forum regarding this topic. I have also done research in other avenues and have become more confident in dealing with this situation, but I have a long road ahead of me. Unfortunately, I cannot afford a lawyer. I am currently unemployed and have no assets. I still have not answered the complaint yet, but I have a general idea of how to do it but I need guidance through the process. I would greatly appreciate any help with the whole process. Thanks in advance.  

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

Midland Funding LLC

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

Jack H. Pogosian / Jonathan Kom

Nichol Alan Guzman / Hyo Jin Julia Jung

Meline Grigoryan

3. How much are you being sued for?

Around $1500.

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?)

I was served.

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

In person.

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?

California, Los Angeles county.

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

Statute of limitations does not apply in this case.

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

According the complaint, 2015.

12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out:

4 years.

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).

Account stated, status of the case is pending.

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 disputing after being sued 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?

I have 30 days to respond which leaves me until next Monday to respond.  They are claiming account stated. 

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.

Bill of Sale, Affidavit of Sale of Account by Creditor, Certificate of Conformity, a page with Field Data of the account from the Database,  screenshots of a letter that Midland sent me detailing account transfer details, screenshots of a letter from Capital One showing balance and final balance, screenshots of Midland Notice of Legal placement.

I never received those letters because they were sent to a former address which I only stayed at for a couple of weeks. 

18.  How did you find out about this site?

Youtube comments.

 

[Inductive]

I am getting ready to send my response to the plaintiff and I have a  couple of questions about the proof of service form (POS-030).  For number 5 on the form it asks:

5. The envelope was addressed and mailed as follows:

a. Name of person served:

b. Address of person served:

For a. should I put Midland Funding LLC or the attorneys listed in the summons?

For b. should I put Midland Funding LLC's address or is it one of the attorneys?

 

Also, should  the person mailing the pos put the original signed pos in the envelope or a copy?

Both the answer and pos go in the same envelope, right?

 

Thanks

[RyanEX]

a & b:  Put the name & address of the attorney; send it to them.

Proper procedure is for you to fill out and sign the answer, then the person serving it will fill out the POS-030, but nor sign it, yet. Make copies of the answer & POS, place the copies in the envelope (POS unsigned) and seal. Person serving will then sign the original POS and can now mail the envelope. Then you take the original signed answer & POS to your courthouse, get the answer time stamped, make copies of both, and file the originals. Keep the copies for your records.

Hope that's not confusing.

Welcome to the board!

[Inductive]

@RyanEX

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I had to send the answer and POS before I read this message because the USPS store closed at 1pm. Are there repercussions for sending a signed copy of the POS to the plaintiff? Also, do you believe that ASTMedic's strategy still works for an "account stated" cause of action?

[RyanEX]

12 hours ago, Inductive said:

@RyanEX

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I had to send the answer and POS before I read this message because the USPS store closed at 1pm. Are there repercussions for sending a signed copy of the POS to the plaintiff? Also, do you believe that ASTMedic's strategy still works for an "account stated" cause of action?

You'll be fine. What I wrote is the "proper" procedure, but many (including plaintiffs) have done it the way you did.

Yes, ASTMedic's thread/strategy works for Account Stated.