Sued by paypal despite demanding arbitration caluse in which Paypal owes all the fees

[jme]

I was served this evening  by Synchrony  bank  for  a  around 7K debt  for a credit card, but the debt was disputed to their law firm they hired and I told  them  if they  continue  to  contact me  that I demand arbitration. Still,  Paypal/Synchrony  bank  just resorted to suing me in district court despite objections  I had about the debit not being  owed by me.

Is there  a sample  motion to dismiss  I  can file in court  to dismiss this since  they  didn't  follow their  binding  arbitration clause?

[jon_117]

I believe you now have to file a motion to compel Arbitration. I don't think a court will dismiss their lawsuit that easily. Here is the thread:

 

[jme]

But how  do  I reply to that -- where  do I get examples  of  motions to file? I don't  know  how  to  put that language together.

[Clydesmom]

35 minutes ago, jmemn said:

Is there  a sample  motion to dismiss  I  can file in court  to dismiss this since  they  didn't  follow their  binding  arbitration clause?

The arbitration clause says EITHER party MAY elect arbitration.  It is not mandatory.  If you want arbitration you will have to file a motion to compel and get the court to approve it.

You have to have a legal basis for a motion to dismiss and failing to arbitrate isn't one of them.

39 minutes ago, jmemn said:

Still,  Paypal/Synchrony  bank  just resorted to suing me in district court despite objections  I had about the debit not being  owed by me.

What do you mean the debt isn't owed by you?  Are you saying you are the victim of identity theft?  If so, THAT could be a legal basis for a motion to dismiss.

[jme]

So there's no way to file a motion to dismiss? -- I already asked them to arbitrate and they just sued me.

[jme]

Yes, I had a card but it had identity theft charges on it and they refuse to stop harassing me about the debt. They only sent me statements and then sued me automatically despite my telling them I dispute the debt.

[jme]

Am I entitled to waiver of arbitration fees?

I am under the federal poverty guidelines

 

[WhoCares1000]

3 minutes ago, jmemn said:

So there's no way to file a motion to dismiss? -- I already asked them to arbitrate and they just sued me.

OK, when you were served, did the papers have a case number on them? If not, then they served you via pocket docket. This means that you fill out an answer (you can get the answer form from the Minnesota Court Website). Now, I am assuming that you filed a police report on the fraudulent charges (if you did not, you can try to file one now, the State of Minnesota requires police departments to file reports of identity theft if you request it).

When you fill in your answer, you can deny anything they say other than your name and address if that is correct. In affirmative answers, you put in Lack of Jurisdiction, contract requires and you have demanded private contractual arbitration. You sign the answer as shown on the form and have someone mail it to the law office that served you along with a green card to be signed by the attorney's office and sent back to you (Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested). Note that MN Law requires that another person does the mailing. After you receive the green card, send the attorney's office a motion to compel arbitration in the same manner as your answer.

Now the bad news, it will probably cost you $600 to get to arbitration because Minnesota Court Fees are expensive. You might get a waiver on the court fees if you request it but you probably will not get a waiver on the arbitration fee. The court fees are $300 to file your answer and $75 to file your motion. The arbitration fee is $250. The good news is that if this is pocket docket, it is not in court yet. If you can get the $600 together as quick as possible, after you are sure that the plaintiff attorney received your MTC, call them and offer the $600 to settle saying that the offer is only good until the case gets into court. Once in court, fight it to the end.

As for the identity theft stuff, save it for arbitration. You can put that in as an affirmative defense in your answer but refuse to do any discovery until such time as the MTC is heard. That will require the plaintiff to either file in court or settle with you. You probably will not get too far with a motion to dismiss so better to force into arbitration.

[jme]

THe address is mostly correct -- 

But they said i am residing in a county that I am to prove juisdiction, but I have lived periodically with friends and visited others in different counties. I get mail at the address indicated but they didn't put N in the address and mail gets misdirected without  north.  I started a draft with Solo Suit website and waiting for their reply and assistance.

 

They don't do motion prep

 

[jme]

There is no court number on the document

[WhoCares1000]

1 minute ago, jmemn said:

THe address is mostly correct -- 

But they said i am residing in a county that I am to prove juisdiction, but I have lived periodically with friends and visited others in different counties. I get mail at the address indicated but they didn't put N in the address and mail gets misdirected without  north.  I started a draft with Solo Suit website and waiting for their reply and assistance.

 

They don't do motion prep

 

When I say lack of jurisdiction, I mean lack of subject jurisdiction, not personal jurisdiction. What you are telling the court is that the because the contract requires private contractual arbitration, the court does not have jurisdiction, the private arbitration company on the contract is who has jurisdiction to hear this issue.

[jme]

So can I still object to their claim about residing in that county? Since I visit others and plan on moving?

[WhoCares1000]

3 minutes ago, jmemn said:

So can I still object to their claim about residing in that county? Since I visit others and plan on moving?

If you were residing in the county where the case was filed on the day the case was filed, it does not matter if you couch surfed in other counties, visited other counties, or are moving. The county where you resided on the day the case was files (which in Minnesota is the date of service) is the county that has personal jurisdiction.

For example, if my primary residence is in Hennepin County but I occasionally stay with friends in Ramsey County, Hennepin County would be the county that has jurisdiction.

[WhoCares1000]

8 minutes ago, jmemn said:

There is no court number on the document

Then this case is considered a pocket docket case. This means that they served you but did not file the case in court. That is legal in Minnesota and you have 20 days from the date of service to answer the case. Rather than filing your answer in the court, you simply serve it on the plaintiff attorney.

For you answer, here is the packet you would use: https://www.mncourts.gov/GetForms.aspx?c=7&p=36 This includes instructions, the answer form, and affidavit of service form.For motions, you use this packet: https://www.mncourts.gov/GetForms.aspx?c=7&p=101 and you fill it out as described by the instructions and the arbitration link above. I always suggest you use court forms when available rather than your own pleading forms.

Again, anything you serve on the plaintiff attorney should be mailed out by a friend rather than yourself.That is the rules of civil procedure.

[jme]

It says in the packet it gots to go to the court too. But it did not have an address or phone  number to send that stuff at the court.

[WhoCares1000]

2 minutes ago, jmemn said:

It says in the packet it gots to go to the court too. But it did not have an address or phone  number to send that stuff at the court.

You cannot file it in court without a case number. Send it to the plaintiff attorney and you will be fine under the Pocket Docket rules. It only goes to the court when the plaintiff files their case in the court so make sure to save a copy should the plaintiff do that.

In any case, here are the in forma paupis forms (to waive the court fees): https://www.mncourts.gov/GetForms.aspx?c=19&p=69

[Bulldoger]

 Synchrony  bank sold a lot of their PayPal to JDB  I know of midland funding, Portfolio, and Jefferson Capital LLc buy some of the accounts.  Who is the Plaintiff?

 

[jme]

Plaintiff is Synchrony Bank but they sold debt to law  firm suing me.

[jme]

1 hour ago, WhoCares1000 said:

You cannot file it in court without a case number. Send it to the plaintiff attorney and you will be fine under the Pocket Docket rules. It only goes to the court when the plaintiff files their case in the court so make sure to save a copy should the plaintiff do that.

In any case, here are the in forma paupis forms (to waive the court fees): https://www.mncourts.gov/GetForms.aspx?c=19&p=69

Would I need to pay fees to reply to their lawyer since there is no case # and do I need to apply for IFP to apply for a motion?

[Clydesmom]

35 minutes ago, jmemn said:

Plaintiff is Synchrony Bank but they sold debt to law  firm suing me.

No they didn't.  The law firm is representing a JDB.  You need to read those papers again very carefully.  Synchrony sells its bad debts they do not sue on their own.  Synchrony is merely the underwriter for multiple store cards.  Look for a name like Midland, LVNV, Portfolio Recovery, Cavalry.  Those are some of the top JDBs.

[jme]

It's Raush Straum.

[WhoCares1000]

6 hours ago, jmemn said:

Would I need to pay fees to reply to their lawyer since there is no case # and do I need to apply for IFP to apply for a motion?

OK, We need to restart the explaining of the process again.

Minnesota is what is known as a pocket docket state when it comes to civil lawsuits (such as the one you are facing now). This process is followed my a hand full of other states (such as The Dakotas and maybe Washington). In most states, a lawsuit is started when the case is filed in the courthouse. In Minnesota and other pocket docket states, the case is started when the defendant is served. That means that you case has started even though it is NOT been filed in any courthouse in the state. You must answer within 20 days of service or they can file and get an automatic default.

Because the case has not been filed, you do not file any papers with the court when the case is started, you simply serve them on the opposing attorney. Because of that, you do not pay any court fees until such time as the case is started and you file them in the court. Now, there will be service fees but those usually involve the US Post Office and are usually less than $10 to send the papers to the opposing attorney Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested Green Card Style. I am sure you can find $10 to perform service.

When you create the Answer, IFP Motion, and MTC Motion, you make 3 copies. One copy you keep for yourself. One copy you set aside to file in court once the case is filed in the courthouse (that is not up to you to do, that is up to the opposing attorney as there is a time limit on them, not you). The Rules of Civil Procedure require that someone not associated with the case is required to perform service in Minnesota. That is why I say have a friend do it. You can be with the friend to guide them on what to do but they are the ones that have to hand the envelope to the post office or put it in the mail box at the end of the day.

Once the opposing attorney has been served with your answer, normally you then start the discovery process (outside of court review) and discuss settlement. However, once you send your MTC, the out of court process stops when it comes to discovery because the MTC needs to be heard by the court first. You can discuss settlement but in your case, there may be no point in doing so. You at least have to hear them out.

As for court fees, those are not dealt with until the case is filed in the courthouse. At that time, you take your papers to the court clerk (the copy that you set aside for the court) and make sure to inform the clerk that you are requesting to proceed In Forma Paupis (IFP). That will be heard first and if granted, you are free to continue the case. If not granted, you will be given 20 days from the day of the hearing to pay the court fees. Note that by sending the IFP to the plaintiff attorney, especially if you collect government benefits, you are probably telling them that you are collection proof and they might or might not dismiss the case. Especially if they feel that you will get the case into arbitration as that would just be chasing good money after bad. Once the case is filed, the process becomes similar to states where the case starts when it is filed in the court.

Now, what happens if you don't file an answer. If you answer is not served on the plaintiff attorney within 20 days (plus a few days for mailing), the plaintiff can then file the case in court and request a default judgement. They will wait another 25 days because of another quirk in Minnesota law. 45 days after a suit is filed, if there is no answer within 20 days and no appeal to extend the time to file an answer due to reasonable delay, the plaintiff attorney can then do what is called a sneak peek garnishment where they can try to see if there are any assets to grab before they pay the court fees to get the case into court. If they find something, they will then file in court and complete the garnishment. If they don't, they might file in court anyways and start the asset discovery process or they might decide not to bother at this time and wait a year to see if anything changes in your circumstances. If they later, they have up to a year to file or the case is dismissed with prejudice (although that has never been tested in court and many legal experts thing that is too draconian). If they decide to file in court anyways, they will start what is called asset discovery and you will be force to attend a deposition in order to find assets. If you don't attend the deposition, there will be an order show cause hearing and if you don't attend that hearing or give an unsatisfactory answer as to why you did not attend the deposition, you can be charged with contempt of court and either put in jail or a warrant will be issued for you arrest.

Now with the above said, I have a feeling based on previous posts that you are couch surfing and are effectively homeless. If so, and you are collecting government benefits, you might be what is called collection proof. That means that even if the plaintiff gets a judgement against you, they cannot collect. Now, in other states, judgements can last decades and can be renewed. In Minnesota, due to another quirk, a judgement is only good for 10 years and the only way it can be renewed is if a new case is filed in court before the old judgement runs out (which means another set of court fees for the plaintiff). I have seen a case where an elderly lady on Social Security Retirement was living in a section 8 apartment was sued and her judgements ran the 10 years without satisfaction. The plaintiff at that point let the SOL on the judgements expire because they knew they would never collect from her. I know this because I have had a phone number for 15 years that was originally hers and I still get calls about her debt, mostly from the bottom feeder JDBs who are willing to disobey the law anyways because they don't care.

So, to answer your question, you don't need to pay the court fees when you send the papers to the plaintiff attorney. You only need to pay the US Post Office fees and again, those will likely come to less than $10. You only pay the fees when the case gets into the court house.

[WhoCares1000]

6 hours ago, Clydesmom said:

No they didn't.  The law firm is representing a JDB.  You need to read those papers again very carefully.  Synchrony sells its bad debts they do not sue on their own.  Synchrony is merely the underwriter for multiple store cards.  Look for a name like Midland, LVNV, Portfolio Recovery, Cavalry.  Those are some of the top JDBs.

 

1 hour ago, jmemn said:

It's Raush Straum.

Raush Straum is a JDB and a collection attorney so it is not understood if they are the creditor or representing the creditor. Odds are, they are representing the creditor. Now, Synchrony Bank usually sells their bad debts rather than suing on them so the question is, who is the creditor. It might be helpful if you can scan the court heading page and black out your personal information and post it here. That way, we can tell who the real plaintiff is.

[BV80]

10 hours ago, jmemn said:

So there's no way to file a motion to dismiss? -- I already asked them to arbitrate and they just sued me.

The agreement also allows for parties to file a lawsuit in court.  Because there is a choice of either court or arbitration, you had to do more than simply tell them you wanted to arbitrate.

10 hours ago, jmemn said:

Yes, I had a card but it had identity theft charges on it and they refuse to stop harassing me about the debt. They only sent me statements and then sued me automatically despite my telling them I dispute the debt.

Did you file an ID theft report with the police or the FTC?  If not, they didn’t have to believe you because anyone can simply claim ID theft.  We are supposed to follow through with filing an ID theft report.

Simply disputing a debt does not prevent a lawsuit.

As @WhoCares1000 requested, please post a copy of what you received with your personal and identifying information redacted.

[jme]

8 hours ago, WhoCares1000 said:

 

Raush Straum is a JDB and a collection attorney so it is not understood if they are the creditor or representing the creditor. Odds are, they are representing the creditor. Now, Synchrony Bank usually sells their bad debts rather than suing on them so the question is, who is the creditor. It might be helpful if you can scan the court heading page and black out your personal information and post it here. That way, we can tell who the real plaintiff is.

They bought  debt and sued on  behalf of  Synchrony Bank