after receiving discovery from debt collector, how long you have to go back for clarifications

[Jacknyc]

hi

I received discovery from debt collector with ton of objections, how long I have to go back and ask  for clarifications for DC's objections. I'm trying build back n forth communication with DC before i file motion to compel to some of imp questions in my discovery.

[BV80]

3 hours ago, Jacknyc said:

hi

I received discovery from debt collector with ton of objections, how long I have to go back and ask  for clarifications for DC's objections. I'm trying build back n forth communication with DC before i file motion to compel to some of imp questions in my discovery.

Do you mean you sent discovery requests and the plaintiff objected to them?  It might help if you could include what you requested and their responses.

[Jacknyc]

2 hours ago, BV80 said:

Do you mean you sent discovery requests and the plaintiff objected to them?  It might help if you could include what you requested and their responses.

I'm sorry for confusion. I sent discovery to plaintiff, he answered few and objected to rest of them and sent me 400 pages of cc statements. My question is how many days I have to go back to him and ask for clarifications on the objections  in good faith before going to file motion for compel?

[texasrocker]

36 minutes ago, Jacknyc said:

I'm sorry for confusion. I sent discovery to plaintiff, he answered few and objected to rest of them and sent me 400 pages of cc statements. My question is how many days I have to go back to him and ask for clarifications on the objections  in good faith before going to file motion for compel?

You did not say if you are being sued by a JDB or an OC. 

Regardless, if they sent you hundreds of statements filing a motion to compel is the least of your worries.  You need to hire a good attorney.

[Bulldoger]

1 hour ago, Jacknyc said:

sent me 400 pages of cc statements.

Obviously an Original Creditor never heard of a JDB having more that 2 years worth statements.  OP most likely waived Arbitration when he initiated Discovery.   

39 minutes ago, texasrocker said:

Regardless, if they sent you hundreds of statements filing a motion to compel is the least of your worries.  You need to hire a good attorney.

Or settle best they can. 

[BV80]

3 hours ago, Jacknyc said:

I'm sorry for confusion. I sent discovery to plaintiff, he answered few and objected to rest of them and sent me 400 pages of cc statements. My question is how many days I have to go back to him and ask for clarifications on the objections  in good faith before going to file motion for compel?

Requesting clarification should be in your rules of civil procedure for discovery.   There is no set time that applies across the board because individual states’ rules can differ.

As has been pointed out, the fact that they sent 400 pages of statements is not in your favor.

Did any of your requests have anything to do with the claims you suggested in your other thread?  Fraud, etc?  You had mentioned breach of fiduciary duty.  If this is a credit card debt, that claim is not valid.  

Is the account yours?

Is this in small claims?

[JohnJohn]

Is this the same lawsuit by Bank of America that you asked about in another thread?

If so, you really need to try to settle.  Original creditors will have all of the documentation they need to win.  I don't know how things work in Illinois, but it is possible that wasting their lawyers time will just result in their legal fees being added to the judgement when they get it.  Unless this is a case if identity theft that you report to the police, or you stopped paying them a long time ago and the statute of limitations has passed, you will lose. (If this was your account, do not fraudulently file a police report claiming identity theft because that could land you in prison.)

You should consult with a consumer attorney about any counter claims that you believe you have.  If you actually do have actionable claims against them, it is possible that a consumer attorney will take the case at no cost to you.  They could file those claims in federal court and get you damages and get their lawyers fees paid for by the bank.  However, from what you posted in the other thread, I think the consumer attorney will probably tell you that you don't have any actual claims against them.

Check with a consumer attorney.  Unless he tells you that you have a valid defense, or that you have valid claims against the bank, then try very hard to settle before this goes to trial.

[Jacknyc]

14 hours ago, BV80 said:

Requesting clarification should be in your rules of civil procedure for discovery.   There is no set time that applies across the board because individual states’ rules can differ.

As has been pointed out, the fact that they sent 400 pages of statements is not in your favor.

Did any of your requests have anything to do with the claims you suggested in your other thread?  Fraud, etc?  You had mentioned breach of fiduciary duty.  If this is a credit card debt, that claim is not valid.  

Is the account yours?

Is this in small claims?

It is OC. some addresses on the cc statements give an address i never knew of or resided , wondering if they have account stated claim at all ? more over, affidavit does not say personal knowledge and does not have notary. DC says BofA is OC and suing on OC name, but when inquired with BofA they say they don't have account any more and placed with ARSI. Any pointers ? (not small claims).

[Jacknyc]

14 hours ago, JohnJohn said:

Is this the same lawsuit by Bank of America that you asked about in another thread?

If so, you really need to try to settle.  Original creditors will have all of the documentation they need to win.  I don't know how things work in Illinois, but it is possible that wasting their lawyers time will just result in their legal fees being added to the judgement when they get it.  Unless this is a case if identity theft that you report to the police, or you stopped paying them a long time ago and the statute of limitations has passed, you will lose. (If this was your account, do not fraudulently file a police report claiming identity theft because that could land you in prison.)

You should consult with a consumer attorney about any counter claims that you believe you have.  If you actually do have actionable claims against them, it is possible that a consumer attorney will take the case at no cost to you.  They could file those claims in federal court and get you damages and get their lawyers fees paid for by the bank.  However, from what you posted in the other thread, I think the consumer attorney will probably tell you that you don't have any actual claims against them.

Check with a consumer attorney.  Unless he tells you that you have a valid defense, or that you have valid claims against the bank, then try very hard to settle before this goes to trial.

i do have counter claims , its going to be filed in fed court.

[Jacknyc]

14 hours ago, JohnJohn said:

Is this the same lawsuit by Bank of America that you asked about in another thread?

If so, you really need to try to settle.  Original creditors will have all of the documentation they need to win.  I don't know how things work in Illinois, but it is possible that wasting their lawyers time will just result in their legal fees being added to the judgement when they get it.  Unless this is a case if identity theft that you report to the police, or you stopped paying them a long time ago and the statute of limitations has passed, you will lose. (If this was your account, do not fraudulently file a police report claiming identity theft because that could land you in prison.)

You should consult with a consumer attorney about any counter claims that you believe you have.  If you actually do have actionable claims against them, it is possible that a consumer attorney will take the case at no cost to you.  They could file those claims in federal court and get you damages and get their lawyers fees paid for by the bank.  However, from what you posted in the other thread, I think the consumer attorney will probably tell you that you don't have any actual claims against them.

Check with a consumer attorney.  Unless he tells you that you have a valid defense, or that you have valid claims against the bank, then try very hard to settle before this goes to trial.

Plan is to run all the way to the end of trial and if DC wins i will declare bankruptcy.

[BV80]

42 minutes ago, Jacknyc said:

It is OC. some addresses on the cc statements give an address i never knew of or resided , wondering if they have account stated claim at all ? more over, affidavit does not say personal knowledge and does not have notary. DC says BofA is OC and suing on OC name, but when inquired with BofA they say they don't have account any more and placed with ARSI. Any pointers ? (not small claims).

Those are issues you can address with court.  You must study up on affidavits and case law.  Pay attention to what the affidavit says about the statements.  Point out that some of the statements are incorrect in order to discredit the affidavit.

You’ll need IL case law regarding business records affidavits.  The affidavit is used to authenticate the statements in order for them to be admissible evidence.  If you can discredit the affidavit, it might be possible that the statements would be deemed inadmissible evidence   

In regard to ARSI, if it is not a debt buyer, it did not purchase your debt.  What does BofA show on your credit report?  Does it still show a balance owed?  If so, the. BofA still owns the account.  If you spoke to a customer service rep., they are not always the most knowledgeable about debt collection.

In any case, the court is going to assume BofA is the plaintiff.  It would be your burden to prove it is not the plaintiff.  But again check your credit report.  

[Jacknyc]

16 minutes ago, BV80 said:

Those are issues you can address with court.  You must study up on affidavits and case law.  Pay attention to what the affidavit says about the statements.  Point out that some of the statements are incorrect in order to discredit the affidavit.

You’ll need IL case law regarding business records affidavits.  The affidavit is used to authenticate the statements in order for them to be admissible evidence.  If you can discredit the affidavit, it might be possible that the statements would be deemed inadmissible evidence   

In regard to ARSI, if it is not a debt buyer, it did not purchase your debt.  What does BofA show on your credit report?  Does it still show a balance owed?  If so, the. BofA still owns the account.  If you spoke to a customer service rep., they are not always the most knowledgeable about debt collection.

In any case, the court is going to assume BofA is the plaintiff.  It would be your burden to prove it is not the plaintiff.  But again check your credit report.  

Best answer BV80. Really appreciate for sharing your knowledge.

[Jacknyc]

23 minutes ago, BV80 said:

Those are issues you can address with court.  You must study up on affidavits and case law.  Pay attention to what the affidavit says about the statements.  Point out that some of the statements are incorrect in order to discredit the affidavit.

You’ll need IL case law regarding business records affidavits.  The affidavit is used to authenticate the statements in order for them to be admissible evidence.  If you can discredit the affidavit, it might be possible that the statements would be deemed inadmissible evidence   

In regard to ARSI, if it is not a debt buyer, it did not purchase your debt.  What does BofA show on your credit report?  Does it still show a balance owed?  If so, the. BofA still owns the account.  If you spoke to a customer service rep., they are not always the most knowledgeable about debt collection.

In any case, the court is going to assume BofA is the plaintiff.  It would be your burden to prove it is not the plaintiff.  But again check your credit report.  

ARSI is debt buyer, they usually hire lawfirm to sue consumers in midwest. bofA still shows on credit report. So very confused 

[BV80]

1 hour ago, Jacknyc said:

ARSI is debt buyer, they usually hire lawfirm to sue consumers in midwest. bofA still shows on credit report. So very confused 

BofA still shows you owe a balance?  Or does it show a $0 balance owed?  Does it say “transferred” or “sold”.  Anything like that?

[Jacknyc]

it does 

5 hours ago, BV80 said:

BofA still shows you owe a balance?  Or does it show a $0 balance owed?  Does it say “transferred” or “sold”.  Anything like that?

it still shows bofa with balance. Neither transferred nor sold. 2 of bofa rep told they don't have a/c.

[BV80]

2 hours ago, Jacknyc said:

it does 

it still shows bofa with balance. Neither transferred nor sold. 2 of bofa rep told they don't have a/c.

If BofA sold the account, it would be required to show a $0 balance.  That is because the balance would no longer be owed to BofA.  The fact that it is showing a balance means it still owns the account.  The reason reps said they don’t have the account may be because it was turned over to the law firm who is representing BofA in the lawsuit.

It does not appear that ARSI is a debt buyer.  It merely collects for other businesses.  The following is from their website.

“We are Account Recovery Specialists, Inc. (ARSI®), and across three decades of partnership with businesses, we have improved their cash flow by recovering payment for goods services rendered.”

It states it improves the cash flow of businesses by “recovering payment”.  It recovers payments for other businesses, not itself.  It also states: 

“ARSI® collects commercial and retail debts with two thoughts in mind: first, to make your business more profitable and secondly, to preserve positive relationships with your customers. Our approach has been refined over three decades of collection work with businesses of all sizes, representing essentially every industry, every profession in Kansas.

You may expect prompt, persistent, fully documented, irreproachable attempts to collect the money owed you. We will reduce write-offs. We will accelerate cash flow.”

If ARSI was collecting money for itself, it would not state “your business” and “ collect the money owed you”.  The highlighted phrases show that ARSI is hired by other businesses and works to collect the money owed to those businesses.  

[JohnJohn]

I am confused from what you have said in the two threads.  From the confusion and from some of your answers/responses, I get the impression that you are not certain about the details of what is happening.  I would highly suggest that you get a consulation with a consumer protection attorney.  Many will review your case and provide a consulation for free.  They will also give you a quote to handle the case for you and what they believe the outcome of the case is likely to be.

The details matter.  If you are being sued by a junk debt buyer, then there are ways to handle the case that can get a very good settlement or even win the case.  From what you have said, it doesn't appear that it is a junk debt buyer that is suing you.  If it is a junk debt buyer suing you, it is very rare that they would have more than a few months worth of statements to provide to you.  The original creditor will have all of the statements related to your account available.  That is how it appears to be in your case.  If an original creditor is suing you, the chances of winning the case are extremely low even if you have a very good attorney representing you. (Almost zero)  The chances of winning a case against an OC pro se are zero.  You can likely reach a settlement with an OC before trial.

If you get a consulation with a consumer protection attorney who specializes in debt lawsuits:  He will be able to read the documents, he will likely know the attorney representing the creditor, and he will probably be able to tell you what the end result of your case is likely to be.  He will know more about your state rules, how that particular creditor approaches lawsuits, and that particular attorney than anybody on an internet forum.  Even if you don't hire him in your case, that level of information will put you in a much better place than where you are now. 

No disrespect meant towards you, but reading your posts it appears as though you are confused and searching for magic words to put in a document that will win the case for you.  Try not to get too emotional.  You said that you will just file bankruptcy if you lose.  If things go poorly, you can possibly file bankruptcy and clear all your debt.  However, try to understand what the situation actually is and how you could possibly take care of it.  If it is an OC, and you can come up with some settlement money, you can make this go away without filing bankruptcy.  If it is a junk debt buyer, you can possible settle or maybe even win.  I know it is difficult, but try to look objectively at all of your options.  There might be a settlement option that you can live with and isn't as painful as bankruptcy.

[Jacknyc]

On 9/14/2022 at 11:05 PM, BV80 said:

If BofA sold the account, it would be required to show a $0 balance.  That is because the balance would no longer be owed to BofA.  The fact that it is showing a balance means it still owns the account.  The reason reps said they don’t have the account may be because it was turned over to the law firm who is representing BofA in the lawsuit.

It does not appear that ARSI is a debt buyer.  It merely collects for other businesses.  The following is from their website.

“We are Account Recovery Specialists, Inc. (ARSI®), and across three decades of partnership with businesses, we have improved their cash flow by recovering payment for goods services rendered.”

It states it improves the cash flow of businesses by “recovering payment”.  It recovers payments for other businesses, not itself.  It also states: 

“ARSI® collects commercial and retail debts with two thoughts in mind: first, to make your business more profitable and secondly, to preserve positive relationships with your customers. Our approach has been refined over three decades of collection work with businesses of all sizes, representing essentially every industry, every profession in Kansas.

You may expect prompt, persistent, fully documented, irreproachable attempts to collect the money owed you. We will reduce write-offs. We will accelerate cash flow.”

If ARSI was collecting money for itself, it would not state “your business” and “ collect the money owed you”.  The highlighted phrases show that ARSI is hired by other businesses and works to collect the money owed to those businesses.  

DC filed arbitration request with court and discovery closed. Does DC has to re-serve the complaint to me? how does arbitration work? Can arbitrator listen to statute of limitations expiry?

[Bulldoger]

1 hour ago, Jacknyc said:

DC filed arbitration request with court and discovery closed. Does DC has to re-serve the complaint to me? how does arbitration work? Can arbitrator listen to statute of limitations expiry?

Did you file a motion to compel arbitration? 

Or did the DC? Whoever,  moved the court case to Arbitration has to start arbitration.  

No servicing is done and SOL are tolled. 

 

[Jacknyc]

20 minutes ago, Bulldoger said:

Did you file a motion to compel arbitration? 

Or did the DC? Whoever,  moved the court case to Arbitration has to start arbitration.  

No servicing is done and SOL are tolled. 

 

DC did, how does SOL work in arbitration, does DC has to serve papers again?

[Bulldoger]

You will not be served again.  JAMS or AAA will contact you. 

When in arbitration the state law cited in contract will apply.  If it is shorter than the one for IL and past the SOL.  IDK if you can use that as defense or not since this case moved from IL court to arbitration and it is stayed in IL court awaiting outcome of arbitration.  But since the DC moved it out of court it may be a defense again IDK.  Maybe Someone here does or you can call an attorney and find out. 

 

[BV80]

9 hours ago, Jacknyc said:

DC did, how does SOL work in arbitration, does DC has to serve papers again?

You say “DC”.  Does that mean “debt collector”?

[Jacknyc]

3 hours ago, BV80 said:

You say “DC”.  Does that mean “debt collector”?

yeah bofa's  lawyer. bofa agreement does not have arbitration, i read word by word, he can't bring arbitration right?

[BV80]

30 minutes ago, Jacknyc said:

yeah bofa's  lawyer. bofa agreement does not have arbitration, i read word by word, he can't bring arbitration right?

BofA removed arbitration around 2010.  Was the account opened before then?  If not, and if the agreement doesn’t contain an arbitration provision, then arbitration cannot be an option.

The party demanding arbitration bears the burden of proving that an arbitration agreement exists between the parties.  They have to show an agreement that applies to your account and it must contain an arbitration provision.

“When presented with a motion to compel arbitration under section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) (9 U.S.C. § 3 (2012)), the trial court's inquiry is limited to certain gateway matters, such as whether the parties have a valid written agreement to arbitrate at all, and if so, whether the issues in dispute fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement.”  Sturgill v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., 2016 IL App (5th) 140380, ¶ 22 (citing Green Tree Financial Corp. v. Bazzle, 539 U.S. 444, 452, 123 S.Ct. 2402, 156 L.Ed.2d 414 (2003)).

[Bulldoger]

Since B of A doesn't have Arbitration Clause it will not be accepted by either AAA or JAMS as that is first thing they look for. 

It must be a court arbitration.  Is your debt more than $10,000 if so it would be mandatory.  My guess is they can request if it's less than 10K.  

Can you post redacted copy of their request filed.