Continuance to file Arbitration

[mahill8]

Good morning!
 I went to court in June prepared to file a MTC for arbitration. The JDB attorney and I met in the hall and I stated that I was electing arbitration and had a MTC.  He said that people say that and never file the arbitration.  When it came time to talk to the judge, the attorney requested a continuance in order for me to file for arbitration.  I didn't get to present my MTC and get it granted.  I was nervous and really should have pushed to get a stay for arbitration but screwed that up.   So now the continuance is almost up and court is next week. I filed with JAMS for arbitration and recently received an email to pay my $250 filing fee.  I have several questions.  What strategy do I take when we go back to court net week?  Do I try to get my MTC granted to compel Crown Asset to answer the arbitration case?  or what do I do? Thanks for any help.

MY ANSWERS TO THE STANDARD QUESTIONS:

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

 Crown Asset

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

Ragan and Ragan

3. How much are you being sued for?

$1500

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

Comenity

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)

Sheriff

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

9. What state and county do you live in?

GA

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

2016

11. What is the SOL on the debt? 

6 yrs

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).  

Submitted answer for lack of subject matter.  Had court date.  Attorney for JDB asked for continuance for me to file for arbitration.  

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

 

 

 

[fisthardcheese]

There will be no granted MTC in Magistrate court.  You already got your stay and you seem to have done exactly what the attorney predicted.  I would have filed and paid the required fee immediately.   Now the "strategy" you take when going back to court is showing the judge proof that you filed and sent your filing fee payment into JAMS and ask for another continuance to allow time for the arbitration process and just hope that the judge isn't irritated that you waited so long to get the ball rolling.

[mahill8]

I deserved that! Yes I waited too long to file.  Thank you for responding.  

I received an email today from JAMS forwarding an email from the lawyer.  He said that his client is electing not to participate in the arbitration process and they have dismissed the lawsuit.  I haven't received any notification that the lawsuit was dismissed.  JAMS responded that they will proceed with arbitration unless it is withdrawn by the Claimant.  

I responded that I would like some time to confirm the dismissal of the lawsuit before considering dropping the arbitration.  I then emailed the lawyer directly saying I would drop the arbitration in exchange for a dismissal with prejudice and payment for my JAMS filing fees.  We will see what happens next.  Have you ever seen a law firm refund the JAMS fee back to the claimant?

Again, thanks for your time!

[Goody_Ouchless]

Well done - that was easy!

 

[fisthardcheese]

On 8/16/2019 at 3:52 PM, mahill8 said:

I deserved that! Yes I waited too long to file.  Thank you for responding.  

I received an email today from JAMS forwarding an email from the lawyer.  He said that his client is electing not to participate in the arbitration process and they have dismissed the lawsuit.  I haven't received any notification that the lawsuit was dismissed.  JAMS responded that they will proceed with arbitration unless it is withdrawn by the Claimant.  

I responded that I would like some time to confirm the dismissal of the lawsuit before considering dropping the arbitration.  I then emailed the lawyer directly saying I would drop the arbitration in exchange for a dismissal with prejudice and payment for my JAMS filing fees.  We will see what happens next.  Have you ever seen a law firm refund the JAMS fee back to the claimant?

Again, thanks for your time!

We have seen settlements from a JDB paying the equivelant of the JAMS fee back to the Defendant, however these are generally in higher court cases where an official MTC is granted and there is more leverage to use against the JDB.  In your case, because you are in Magistrate Court, they don't officially grant the MTC and the JDB is allowed to dismiss any time they want which takes away your leverage to force the dismissal settlement you want.

However, with that said, I would have played it out the same way you did.  It hurts nothing to take that shot in asking for the settlement in exchange for dismissing the JAMS case.  The only problem is that if they just say "no" or ignore you, there isn't much you can do with it.  But you did get the dismissal, so that is still a win!