Lawyer is threatening jail

[shado1021]

Hi...I am writing this for my daughter who is being sued by a hospital for a delinquent bill.

Background: We live in Michigan. My daughter is sole support right now for her family of 4. Her husband has been laid off since July '07 and has not been able to find a job yet. She works part time (20-32 hrs per week) as a cashier for a major retailer. Only makes $8/hr. Two children under the age of 2 yrs. They were going to file BK last yr. but had to drop it because they could'nt afford the lawyer. The only asset they have is a '97 Tarus that her Grandfather gave her and is title is in her name. They own nothing else except for their own personal items. I own the house they live in and no, they don't pay any rent (that's been a direct effect on my finances, but that's another story). They do get food stamps but the FIA denied them for cash assistance because they say she makes too much money.

Anyway, about 3 weeks ago, she was served with a letter that she said looked like an official court document that she was being sued by the hospital. I never saw the letter itself, but she said she couln't find a court date anywhere on it. I have been reading this forum a lot for several months because I will be filing BK sometime this yr, and told her from what I have read that she can just ignore it, let them sue and even if they get a judgement the worse they can do is garnishee her wages. But I don't think they could do even that since she doesn't make that much money. She was worried they would take her car. I told her honey, they will take one look at that car and start laughing (there is some moderate body damage).

Now, she just called me and said she got a letter in the mail from the law firm representing the hospital that said if she doesn't show up in court, she could face arrest and jail time for contempt of court. She's frantic. I told her (from what I have learned here) that not paying her bill is not criminal, they can't arrest her for that. But HOLY COW!! I don't know about the contempt of court business! She's scared to death now.

Can they do that?? Is there any way that it is contempt of court to NOT show up? She doesn't even know when the court date is!

Please, I would appreciate any advice I can pass on to her. She can't post or read herself because her cable and internet has been diconnected. They couldn't afford it.

TIA

[optimistic1]

It's scare tactics, and you should report the "lawyer" to the state bar.

Last time I checked, there is no debtors prison.

Call the court and verify whether or not there actually is a any type of suit filed.

These people go to great lengths to get their money, I cant believe they would do that over a hospital bill.

The whole thing sounds very fake to me. How the heck could she in contempt if there isnt even a court date.

They might be able to establish a lien on the vehicle, but it would probably do them no good. And they might actually really file a real suit in court, and win, and maybe garnish some wages, unless she pleads to the judge it would be a hardship, then they might get less than the court normally allows.

Not showing up in court, if they Really file would just allow them to win a default judgement, not jail time.

[HHM]

There are a whole bunch of if, thens, buts...coming into play here, however,

There is a scenario (actually a couple different ones) in which the court could issue a bench warrant for the debtor. The primary one is this...
Creditor gets a judgment against debtor.
Creditor requests a post judgment debtor exam (i.e. like a deposition);
Debtor fails to respond; (civil contempt).
At request of Creditor, judge can issue a bench warrant.

Now, these bench warrants often just sit there, rarely would a sheriff go out and get you, but if you were pulled over or someone did a back ground check, the warrant would be sitting there.

We would need substantially more clarification on what was served and the status of any suit in order to give you any specific advice. If your daughter was simply issued a summons, and she fails to respond, Optimistic is correct, all they can do is get a default jugdment.

[shado1021]

Thank you both for responding. I will have her bring me both the paper she was served and the lawyer letter so I can see them for myself and follow up with more info later.

BTW - sorry for the typos in my post. I should have proofed it first.

Thanks again.

[soleprop]

in for the update...what a strange case.

[BigJohn]

Thank you both for responding. I will have her bring me both the paper she was served and the lawyer letter so I can see them for myself and follow up with more info later.

BTW - sorry for the typos in my post. I should have proofed it first.

Thanks again.

How big of a medical debt are we talking about?

[shado1021]

How big of a medical debt are we talking about?

BigJohn: I think it's around $800 - $900

After I posted, my daughter called me from work and I told her I need to see the "court paper" and the lawyer letter. She did tell me that before getting those papers, she has not received anything about a suit being filed or a judgement against her. This whole thing seems odd to me.

I gotta tell ya, if they use the word "jail" as a scare tactic....it works.

I'll post more after I get my hands on those papers.

[CompTweaker]

Tell her to store that paper in a very safe place for use as evidence. She could countersue for threatning jail, that IS NOT allowed. She needs to make copies of it and send them to the state's AG, the BBB about the collection company, and report the lawyer to the BAR.

Go to naca.net and see if you can find a lawyer in your area who is willing to take up your side based on contingency. They'll tack on some hefty fees for whoever sent that letter, plus she could be paid for violations and damages.

[ssdsco]

If that letter turns out to be nothing but scare tactics I'd start baiting the lawyer into further harassment and record/document it all. If you have solid proof of continuous illegal harassment you could be talking a sizeable lawsuit.

[Mi Bankruptcy]

Is it from CBCS? If so, PM me.

[junker]

sounds like she would be eligible for legal aid, they worked wonders for me.

[BigJohn]

Original poster, shado1021 wrote "Now, she just called me and said she got a letter in the mail from the law firm representing the hospital that said if she doesn't show up in court, she could face arrest and jail time for contempt of court."

If your daughter does go to court, she should show up with a suitcase and a reporter.

What I have noticed lately is some collectors, lawyers, etc. seem to be etremely agreesive and don't seem to care about the law, as if there is no law.

As one poster has mentioned, your daughter should qualify for legal aid because she gets food stamps.

As far as being to garnish her wages, I don't think she makes enough. The lawyer is just scaring her.

[CompTweaker]

Original poster, shado1021 wrote "Now, she just called me and said she got a letter in the mail from the law firm representing the hospital that said if she doesn't show up in court, she could face arrest and jail time for contempt of court."

If your daughter does go to court, she should show up with a suitcase and a reporter.

What I have noticed lately is some collectors, lawyers, etc. seem to be etremely agreesive and don't seem to care about the law, as if there is no law.

As one poster has mentioned, your daughter should qualify for legal aid because she gets food stamps.

As far as being to garnish her wages, I don't think she makes enough. The lawyer is just scaring her.

Its just a scare tactic. Unless the document served has a valid "case number" that can be easily verified by calling and confirming with her local courts, then it really is just a scare tactic PLUS it has crossed the line, and they can be sued for it.

[Never_Again]

I do know that in our state, AFTER a judgment has been granted, that there is a hearing for disclosure. This is where the judge will ask a person about their income, expenses, and financial situation to determine what a person might be able to pay on a debt.

If a person is summoned for this hearing, and does NOT arrive, the judge can issue a CIVIL warrant for arrest. What that means, is that the judge will order the sheriff to go and pick up the person, and bring them to the court. They to NOT take them to jail! Also, the creditor must be ready to appear in court within a certain amount of time that the debtor is brought in, or they will be released. I think that the time period is 30 minutes, but I am not sure.

But no, you do not generally go to jail for CIVIL contempt.

[BigJohn]

I do know that in our state, AFTER a judgment has been granted, that there is a hearing for disclosure. This is where the judge will ask a person about their income, expenses, and financial situation to determine what a person might be able to pay on a debt.

If a person is summoned for this hearing, and does NOT arrive, the judge can issue a CIVIL warrant for arrest. What that means, is that the judge will order the sheriff to go and pick up the person, and bring them to the court. They to NOT take them to jail! Also, the creditor must be ready to appear in court within a certain amount of time that the debtor is brought in, or they will be released. I think that the time period is 30 minutes, but I am not sure.

But no, you do not generally go to jail for CIVIL contempt.

An emplyee who no longer works for me and myself just recently got a summons telling us that we had to appear in court the next day for a trial of a person who had passed a bad check in my store 6 years ago. I arrived at the court, the ex-employee didn't. The summons said if we didn't appear, a warrant would be issued for our arrest. I told the clerk who I was and mentioned the ex-employee coud not be found, she said "No problem".