Sued by JDB in CA, Filed MTC.

[Lizzyb]

At the end of Fall 2019 I was mailed a collection notice from LVNV Funding. The original creditor was Synchrony Care Credit, the amount $1,200, within SOL 

I denied debt and requested verification/validation. Within a couple of days, I received a verification packet showing the transfer of debt to LVNV funding, Statements showing a balance for 1 year (no charges/balance only stmts ), and a CareCredit Card agreement. 

The CareCredit card agreement lacked much information (APR, DATE, NAME, etc.), but it did have an arbitration clause.

A few days after receiving the packet, I was sent a letter of intent to sue from LVNV.

I contacted the credit bureaus and disputed a Synchrony Care Credit trade line and a new LVNV collection. I knew some information they reported/changed to be factually incorrect. 

A month later I was served in person.   

I’m in California. I Scheduled an MTC hearing 45 days out, filed MTC, memorandum of points and authorities (included copy of Care credit agreement they sent), Order, and had plaintiff served. I filed POS as well.

This week (29 days before hearing) I was served via USPS a request for documents, request for Admissions, and Special interrogatories. The date to respond timely to them (30 plus 5 days) falls exactly on the date of the MTC hearing.  However, the date on the “request for documents” has a date of 2 weeks after the hearing.

Here’s my question. Should I respond prior to the hearing? I can prep the docs to send at any time, but am considering having them served via mail the same day of the hearing, depending on the ruling.   I could answer “ Objection, defendant has exercised her right to utilize arbitration as the forum to resolve plaintiffs claims, and responding to this discovery request may constitute a waiver of that right (thankyou @Harry Seaward for this from another post). “ VS “objection, defendants’ motion to compel arbitration was granted and the scope of discovery is to be determined through arbitration (not sure if this is phrased correctly) .”

In the event my motion is denied, I can serve the first response while filing an appeal with the court the same day of hearing.  Either way, I will bring a copy to the hearing in case they show up and it gets brought up. 

 Is my objection how I should respond to every question on all three documents... request for Admissions, Special interrogatories and request for documents? I’ve attached a redacted copy of questions for reference.

Ive read through these forums and don’t have a clear picture on what the motion hearing will look like...if the judge will ask me about the case law I used on my MTC or if the other side will show up and what to expect/prep for if they do. Any advice/guidance would help.

 

Thank you for your response. This forum helped so much with my MTC and I appreciate any advice.  
Question from LVNV.pdf

[Harry Seaward]

I wouldn't bother with answering their Discovery at this point. Instead, I would bring a motion for extension of time (30 days or whatever) to respond to their Discovery requests, and you can file that if your motion to compel is denied.

[Lizzyb]

Thank you @Harry Seaward for your reply. I prepped the documents and was ready to go for next week. I checked the court website to make sure I wasn’t missing anything and my case status shows “dismissed.”  The docs show they filed a request for dismissal of “entire action of all parties and all causes of actions  without prejudice.” It was submitted 2/23 for review and signed by the clerk 2 days ago with “dismissal entered as requested.” 
The hearing set for next week shows “cancelled” with “reason: dismissed.”

I tried calling the court to verify the hearing cancellation, but its closed today. 

Do you have any recommendation, besides calling Monday, on my next step?  The “without prejudice” makes me nervous I will have to go through this process again and am not sure if I should be satisfied with this or anxious for the next server to show up. The attorney is Mandarich and from everything I’ve read they might start this all over again. 
Thankyou for your input. 

 

[Harry Seaward]

Did you have a hearing on the  MTC? What was the outcome? 

[Lizzyb]

Not yet, the motion hearing was scheduled for mid next week. 

[nobk4me]

I doubt if they will try to sue you again.  If they do, it's a case of rinse and repeat.  Arb again.  Usually the second time they dismiss, it is with prejudice (but check your state's rules on this).

 

[RyanEX]

On 3/7/2020 at 12:29 PM, nobk4me said:

I doubt if they will try to sue you again.  If they do, it's a case of rinse and repeat.  Arb again.  Usually the second time they dismiss, it is with prejudice (but check your state's rules on this).

 

Agree. @Lizzyb they now know you'll fight, and that is not what JDBs are interested in pursuing.