SangreDelToro Posted June 30, 2019 Report Share Posted June 30, 2019 1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit? Crown Asset Management, LLC assignee of WebBank (Prosper Funding LLC) 2. What is the name of the law firm handling the suit? (should be listed at the top of the complaint.) Rausch Sturm 3. How much are you being sued for? $17,898.40 plus post judgement interest and court costs 4. Who is the original creditor? (if not the Plaintiff) WebBank (Prosper Funding LLC) 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) In person 7. Was the service legal as required by your state? Yes 8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued? None before, but I literally just received a letter from Rausch Sturm offering a payment plan. Lawsuit had already been filed. 9. What state and county do you live in? Dallas County, Texas 10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations) The lawsuit alleges March 14, 2018 11. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out: I think it's 4 years. 12. 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). Answer is due by tomorrow, July 1, 2019 13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?) No 14. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request, don't bother doing this now - it's too late. No 15. 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? By 10 AM on the Monday next following 20 days from being served. I was served on June 8, 2019. 16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits. No evidence but they included Plaintiff's First Discovery Request, Request for Disclosure, Request for Production, Request for Admissions & Plaintiff's First Set of Interrogatories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasrocker Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 @fisthardcheese is WebBank Prosper Funding LLC eligible for arbitration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Seaward Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 WebBank/Prosper agreements do have arbitration provisions with options for both JAMS and AAA, and they are pretty favorable to consumers with a "we will pay your fee if you act in good faith" clause, but each agreement is custom written for each loan (interest, monthly payment, length of loan, number of payments, etc), so OP will have to get a hold of the original agreement for his/her specific loan. Contacting WebBank/Prosper directly would be the most favorable way, but may take more time than he/she has to file an answer. Asking for an extension to respond to discovery may be in order. The other possibility is to get a hold of the agreement through discovery but then, depending on TX caselaw to the effect, you run the risk of waiving your right to arbitration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted July 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 Thank you both for responding so quickly! I'm still working on the answer that has to be filed by tomorrow at 10 AM. My question is... Do I have to file the MTC arbitration at the same time that I file the answer or can I file that later? I've managed to cobble together some parts from various answers that I've seen in similar cases. In particular I've used the "Grounds for Dismissal for Lack of Standing". I also read through "Special Exception to Account Stated" but determined that it doesn't apply in my case since this is not a credit card account. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted July 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 also... I have 50 days from date of service to respond to discovery and other Plaintiff requests so I still have quite a bit of time on that. I was served on June 8, 2019. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisthardcheese Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 If it were me, I would file the answer and include an affirmative defense of "Lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to a private arbitration clause". File the answer on time and then start working on your MTC to file as soon as you can. I second @Harry Seaward's suggestion on calling Prosper and seeing if you can get a copy of your old loan agreement paperwork from them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Seaward Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 I agree on filing the answer now. You can file the MTC later once you get the copy of the agreement. 50 days should be plenty of time to get it, but if you don't have it in 30, I'd file a motion for an extension or enlargement of time, whatever it's called in TX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby8900 Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 4 hours ago, fisthardcheese said: If it were me, I would file the answer and include an affirmative defense of "Lack of subject matter jurisdiction due to a private arbitration clause". File the answer on time and then start working on your MTC to file as soon as you can. I second @Harry Seaward's suggestion on calling Prosper and seeing if you can get a copy of your old loan agreement paperwork from them. I, agree with @harry-seaward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasrocker Posted July 1, 2019 Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 Sorry, I forgot to provide a general denial. What court is this in? With 50 days allowed for discovery it is likely a county or district court where court approval to send discovery is not required. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted July 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2019 Thanks everyone! I filed the answer on time this morning (barely made it). I didn't have a chance to read some of your responses this morning but I think it'll do as I used the following general denial wording... "Defendant generally denies, pursuant to Rule 92 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, each and every, all and singular, of the Plaintiff's allegations.". Fortunately, I also included the subject matter jurisdiction as an affirmative defense as suggested. @texasrocker, this case has been filed in the 44th District Court (Dallas County). I'm working on the MTC and will file asap. Hopefully the MTC will be granted prior to the 50 days so I don't have to deal with discovery and other requests by Plaintiff. As for the original loan documents, I think I have them stored electronically on an old laptop. If I can't find them by tonight, I'll give Prosper a call in the morning to see if they'll send me the original promissory note and documentation. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasrocker Posted July 2, 2019 Report Share Posted July 2, 2019 Get on these things immediately. Don't just automatically count on a district court to grant you an extension to answer discovery. You will likely be told that the court does not waste time and resources on discovery as it is between the parties, not the court. It usually comes down to if the plaintiff agrees to the extension so you had better have a very good excuse such as you were hospitalized during that period. I don't think you want to tell the plaintiff that you are still waiting for material to compel them to arbitration so you can't answer yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted August 2, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Just wanted to give everyone an update of my case... I was able to get the digitally signed promissory note from Prosper and I filed the MTC arbitration with the court. While I was waiting to receive the promissory note I sent a letter to Plaintiff's attorney electing arbitration. There was a scheduling hearing on July 26th at which time the Plaintiff's attorney stated that they wanted to wait for the court's decision on the MTC arbitration before scheduling a hearing. The judge granted me a stay on the discovery and interrogatories since they were due the following day. I was called the day before the MTC hearing by the court clerk and she said that I had not provided the court with a courtesy copy of the motion. I literally had to leave work, run home and print everything out, 3 hole punch the 18 page document, rush to Walmart to get a binder (clerk said it had to be in a binder) and drive all the way downtown to deliver it by 3 PM. This was very stressful but I managed to get it done! The MTC hearing was on August 1st and, lo and behold, the Plaintiff's attorney filed a motion for non-suit without prejudice at the last minute. Sort of anti-climactic but at least it's over with unless they sell it to someone else that tries to sue again. Thanks again everyone for your assistance. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goody_Ouchless Posted August 2, 2019 Report Share Posted August 2, 2019 Wow - they walked on 17.8K? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby8900 Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 11 hours ago, Goody_Ouchless said: Wow - they walked on 17.8K? Seems strange. Maybe, they will try again, was there a small claims court carve out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasrocker Posted August 3, 2019 Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 13 hours ago, Goody_Ouchless said: Wow - they walked on 17.8K? Of course. Rausch Sturm Israel Enerson & Hornik is the biggest bunch of wimps ever. All they care about is default judgments. 1 hour ago, Robby8900 said: Seems strange. Maybe, they will try again, was there a small claims court carve out? That is irrelevant in Texas as small claims courts were abolished in 2013. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted August 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2019 I was surprised as well! The judge actually told me that if they sue again it will come through her court. She told me to reference this case if that happens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisthardcheese Posted August 4, 2019 Report Share Posted August 4, 2019 On 8/2/2019 at 7:11 PM, Goody_Ouchless said: Wow - they walked on 17.8K? ? <--- Me not surprised. Just curious, did your loan agreement have JAMS in it or AAA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SangreDelToro Posted August 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2019 They listed both. Here is the actual wording from the promissory note... "Any Claim shall be resolved, upon the election of either you or me, by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association or JAMS, under the applicable arbitration rules of the administrator in effect at the time a Claim is filed ("Rules"). Any arbitration under this arbitration agreement will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. If I file a claim, I may choose the administrator; if you file a claim, you may choose the administrator, but you agree to change to the other permitted administrator at my request (assuming that the other administrator is available)." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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