MCM attorney sent me someone else's court documents - any recourse here?

[Thisisntfun]

So here I am again in another lawsuit...this time with MCM on two Comenity accounts (combined in one lawsuit). I filed my answer & MTC with the Magistrate's Court. First hearing is scheduled for Mar 9th. I'm in SC btw.

Today I received a very large envelope from the attorney's office. Apparently, they filed a MSJ with the court. However, all I have with my name & court case is the cover letter they mailed to the court and the first page of the MSJ. The remainder of 1" thick pile of papers is all the supporting acct statements for someone else's Belk & Credit One accounts. I have no way of knowing if they only sent this incorrect stack to me or if they actually filed this with the court.

Also, they initially filed in the wrong county so my case was transferred to another jurisdiction. These folks sent the MSJ to the original incorrect Magistrate's court. Apparently, they didn't bother to look at my answer very carefully b/c the correct Magistrate's was on there. I'm sure it was just transferred to the proper court like the original Summons, but c'mon, they should know where their court case is at this juncture.  It just seems pretty sloppy all the way around.

My question is: can any of this be used to my advantage or would it all just be considered "errors?" Should I contact the attorney's office & ask for the proper documentation or just lay low & see how it all plays out in court?

How would you handle this?

[nobk4me]

Here is my take.  As a pro se litigant, you are expected to behave professionally.  So what would an attorney do, with this obvious error?   I would contact their attorney and inform them of their mistake.  

It's possible that papers pertaining to your case were sent in error to another person.  It is everyone's best interest, IMO, to straighten this out.

[Thisisntfun]

Ok thank you for that. I'll reach out to them.

[Thisisntfun]

Well this is odd.

I took @nobk4me's advice and reached out to the attorney via email early this week. I sent photos of the incorrect docs they sent me & they told me to shred them. I also asked them to advise me if they had, in fact, sent my personal information to someone else erroneously. Of course, no response to that. But the attorney said he would get the correct docs to me.

Fast forward to today & I received a notice from the court stating that my case had been dismissed without prejudice. I also received a packet from the attorney with a letter stating "this will confirm receipt of your request for verification of the alleged debt owed..." along with statements. And a settlement offer of roughly 80% of the amount owed (no thanks). I'm really baffled here. I didn't ask for verification of debt. I asked for the documents they filed with the court. Maybe they filed the wrong documents with the court & that's why they dismissed? And this letter is one last hail mary attempt to collect something? I dunno. I'm just really confused.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[nobk4me]

All I can say is this is strange.   But I would consider their dismissal a victory.  But be cautious, and watchful on the court's dockets (assuming there is online access to them).  They might get their act together and file suit again.

[Bulldoger]

Do you still have the wrong documents, maybe reaching out to (other party) to see if they got your information.  If so this should give you a counterclaim if you are sued and show lack in keeping of records. I know if someone got my information I would like to know.

[Thisisntfun]

I searched for this person in court records and it looks like their case was dismissed back in February. I don't know the reason for dismissal b/c the online records only show a running list of activity on each case, not actual documents. I don't know if reaching out to them would benefit them at this point or not. I also don't want to "tick off" the attorney's office and have them re-file on me in retaliation if I give this other person ammunition against them. I did keep the wrong documents just in case, though.

What do you think about me sending a letter to the attorney in response to their "verification of debt & settlement offer" letter to reiterate that I demand arbitration per the card agreement regarding any and all disputes related to these accounts? Do you think that might dissuade them from re-filing again?

[Bulldoger]

3 hours ago, Thisisntfun said:

I searched for this person in court records and it looks like their case was dismissed back in February. I don't know the reason for dismissal b/c the online records only show a running list of activity on each case, not actual documents. I don't know if reaching out to them would benefit them at this point or not. I also don't want to "tick off" the attorney's office and have them re-file on me in retaliation if I give this other person ammunition against them. I did keep the wrong documents just in case, though.

What do you think about me sending a letter to the attorney in response to their "verification of debt & settlement offer" letter to reiterate that I demand arbitration per the card agreement regarding any and all disputes related to these accounts? Do you think that might dissuade them from re-filing again?

Probably, best to let sleeping bears sleep. Demanding arbitration will not change anything IMO since they already know if they sue you will move case to arbitration. They probably move on to out cases looking for default judgements.  

[BackFromTheDebt]

My strategy when getting a dismissal without prejudice was to ignore it and hope they go away.  They always did. 
 

They rarely file again.  If they do, then go into arbitration

[Thisisntfun]

OK thanks guys. I'll just file all this away for now and hope they don't resurface before October. All of my debts will reach SOL in October.