Sued by Portfolio Recovery in Texas

[Star26]

My estranged spouse has been sued by Portfolio Recovery/Synchrony Bank Sam's Club in Texas. He moved to Korea in 2017 and has not returned the U.S. since then. We own property in the county he is being sued in. I have not lived in Texas since 2015 and he has not lived there since Feb 2017. To protect my own interest, I feel I need to fight this lawsuit.

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC assignee of Synchrony Bank/ Synchrony Bank/Sams Club

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

Jamila Boozer Lloyd, Norfolk VA

3. How much are you being sued for?

$9,105.33

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

Synchrony Bank/Sams Club

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?)
I was sent pictures of the notice via text by my adult son who found the notice on the front door of my property in Texas. I sent my estranged husband a message via an app. He did not acknowledge.

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

Citation was taped to front door of jointly owned property in Texas

7. Was the service legal as required by your state? 

I'm unsure since the defendant has not lived at this address since Feb 2017.

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?

Defendant lives in South Korea, I live in Colorado. I am military; my estranged spouse is not.

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

The citation states 10 June, 2018. 

11. What is the SOL on the debt?

4 years in Texas 

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).

PETITION FILED

Status: Active

13. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?)

I doubt it.

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.
I doubt this also.

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? 

14 days

16. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits.

Nothing.

 

If we did not have jointly owned property that I have been making all the payments on for the last four years, I would not care about his lawsuit. Since Texas is a community property state, I am afraid ignoring the lawsuit may could potentially put the property at risk. Any advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[BV80]

@texasrocker

[texasrocker]

I would say ignore it if you did not use the card or make any payments on it.  In my opinion if your name is not included in the lawsuit then it is not your responsibility.  Your property is not at risk.  If he fails to file an answer and it results in a default judgment the most they can do in Texas is garnish his bank account and enter the judgment on his credit report so if you have a joint bank account then you need to get out of that.

Don't contact Portfolio Recovery or the law firm that filed the suit.  Just let it play out against him as long as you had nothing to do with the account.   

[Impress]

@texasrocker   OP states this is a joint property, even though OP is making payments.  Wouldn't said property be at risk?  Not from seizure but a lien until judgement is paid?

@Star26  If your name is on the suit, then you have options.  If not, I would consult a lawyer to see what, if anything, you need to do to protect your property.  You can't answer for him because he will need to make all court appearances (unless he hires an attorney).

[texasrocker]

1 hour ago, Impress said:

@texasrocker   OP states this is a joint property, even though OP is making payments.  Wouldn't said property be at risk?  Not from seizure but a lien until judgement is paid?

I suppose that could apply if the defendant owns multiple properties. In Texas a homestead cannot be taken away to pay your debts except:
1. If you do not make the payments on a mortgage or home equity loan.
2. If you do not pay your property taxes.
3. If you do not pay for work done on the homestead by a repair person that has a written contract.

A homestead in Texas is defined as a house and up to 10 acres if it is inside a city. A rural homestead can be up to 200 acres for a family and 100 acres for an individual.

Texas Property Code, Chapter 41:
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.41.htm

 

[Star26]

We jointly own two properties and one is listed as a homestead the other is a rental property. He is the only person named on the suit.

[Impress]

@Star26  I'm not an expert on how Texas would handle joint property.  If you can afford it, hire an attorney to protect what's yours.