Being Sued by Calvary SPV - need asssistance with how to proceed

[iluv2write]

1. Who is the named plaintiff in the suit?

Calvary SPV I

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

Blitt and Gaines

3. How much are you being sued for? $4600 (approximately)

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

5. How do you know you are being sued? (You were served, right?) Served with Summons

6. How were you served? (Mail, In person, Notice on door) Process server gave summons to my girlfriend while I was home. Summons was not given directly to me.

7. Was the service legal as required by your state? As far as I know, yes.

Process Service Requirements by State - Summons Complaint

8. What was your correspondence (if any) with the people suing you before you think you were being sued?  I sent a letter requesting debt validation and that I disputed the debt with Calvary prior to lawsuit being filed.

9. What state and county do you live in?  Arizona

10. When is the last time you paid on this account? (looking to establish if you are outside of the statute of limitations):  Not outside of SOL

11. When did you open the account (looking to establish what card agreement may be applicable)? 2018

12. What is the SOL on the debt? To find out:

Statute of Limitations on Debts 6 years for credit card debt.

13. 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).  Served on 10/31/2021. I have until Monday, November 21^st to file an answer. Per Arizona law, I have twenty days to respond to complaint. If the twentieth day falls on a weekend, I have until the next business day.

14. Have you disputed the debt with the credit bureaus (both the original creditor and the collection agency?): Yes, with Calvary SPV but not with credit bureaus or Citibank.

15. Did you request debt validation before the suit was filed? Note: if you haven't sent a debt validation request before being sued, it likely won't help create FDCPA violations, but disputing after being sued could be useful to show the court that you dispute the debt ('account stated' vs. 'breach of contract'): Yes

16. 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?:  20 days from date served. If 20^th day falls on a weekend or holiday, it would be the next working day.

Here is an example of what the summons/complaint may look like: Sued by a Debt Collector - Learn How to Fight Debt Lawsuits

The complaint looks basically like a boilerplate statement claiming I made an agreement with Citibank, and that I defaulted, and I owe them money. If you need more information regarding what was stated, I'd be happy to elaborate.

17. What evidence did they send with the summons? An affidavit? Statements from the OC? Contract? List anything else they attached as exhibits: No evidence attached; just looks like a boilerplate statement from the plaintiff's law firm.

18.  How did you find out about this site?  Google Search

Hello everyone,

I was recently notified that I am being sued by Calvary SPV for allegedly defaulting on a Citibank Card. I have a couple possible counterclaims against them. Prior to the suit being filed, Calvary SPV  left numerous voicemail messages without leaving a Mini-Miranda.  Also, they did not report my debt as disputed even though I did send them a letter requesting debt validation months ago.

My question is this; should I file an answer and file counter claims against this junk debt buyer and fight them in Justice Court or should I compel Arbitration? The Citibank Cardholder Agreement does allow for arbitration for the time the card was in use. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!

[BackFromTheDebt]

There are some people who have knowledge of Arizona, but I am not one of them.  Perhaps @Clydesmom does.  

Here is the issue:

Is Justice Court considered to be a small claims court?

If so, you probably can't use arbitration, since Citi has a small claims exemption for arbitration.

If not, arbitration would be a good strategy.

Having claims against them always helps for negotiating. I've gotten some mutual walkaways that way, almost  always in arbitration though.  

 

Filing an answer with counter claims may be a good idea, if you have genuine violations.  If you can arbitrate, use improper venue due to the arbitration clause as an affirmative defense, and file an MTC.  

 

[kittycat]

Filing counterclaims in arizona justice court is like throwing your claims into the garbage.

Justice court is not small claims court so arbitration is available. Whether or not it is a good legal strategy depends on whether or not plaintiff is willing to go.

If you decide on arbitration, it is usually best to file the motion to compel the same day that you file the answer. If you don't have time to do both, be sure to add arbitration as an affirmative defense in your answer, then file the motion to compel as soon as you can.

If you don't have a copy of the precise arbitration agreement, request validation and they will probably send the agreement.

You could also try to obtain concurrence for arbitration by emailing the attorney at the address on the complaint. You could ask for their concurrence for you to immediately file a Joint Motion to Stay Action Pending Completion of Private Arbitration. Their response will give you some idea of what they think about arbitration.

[iluv2write]

Hello Everyone,

After I submitted my answer and motion to compel arbitration, Calvary and their attorneys are agreeing to dismiss their case against me with prejudice. I didn’t even have to initiate my arbitration case yet or pay any arbitration fees! I greatly appreciate everyone’s help and advice. I am very happy with the outcome.

[HAMMERZIPPY]

How do I use this? I don't even know what disclosures or agreement the JDBs suing me are going off of?