Citi suit against me please help

[alironz]

Today is Sunday. This afternoon I looked out the back door and there was a summons pushed in between the doors. Citi has filed against me in civil court for $15000 plus. My Dad died in May of 2008 and I notified them that I was not the primary card holder but was authorized user to the best of my recollection. I asked them to send me the original application to prove this was a joint account. They twice responded that they cannot do that as the application is too old. My account was turned over to Northland Group and I wrote them explaining it was not joint account. They since turned it over to Solomon and Solomon and now the lawsuit. I am in a panic. It says I need to file an "appearance" form and if I have any questions to hire lawyer immediately. I really cannot afford a lawyer. Do you think I can deal with this myself?

[HHM]

Well, by your own story, you haven't been able to handle this yourself so far (albeit, there really isn't a whole lot you can do). Have you actually spoke to a lawyer or are you merely guessing that you cannot afford one.

You should probably go meet with a lawyer or two to review your options and find out how much it would "really" cost. In this case, you probably want to find a consumer advocate / civil litigation attorney. With the amount involved, the technical aspects of legal procedure will overwhelm you. I suspect that you are not in small claims court so you really need an attorney that can assert your affirmative defenses, counter claims, and deal with discovery and file a Motion to Dismiss.

[lifelesson]

do you have it in writing that they can not produce the orignal agreement? I think that might be a very strong point for you. as for the lawyer best to ask one. You may have a case against them. BUT I AM NTO AN ATTORNEY.

[alironz]

I do have it in writing from them that they cannot produce original application.

[Willy13]

My credit reports shows which accounts are joint or just authorized user. Maybe your credit reports can help you.

[alironz]

This is not on my credit report.

[Willy13]

You may have to check all three. I would think you would find it on at least one report if you ever had anything to do with the account. I could be wrong though.

[HHM]

Regardless of what is on your credit report, you have to realize, this is not a type of case where you will simply show up and state your position (i.e. peoples court), please go see an attorney.

[alironz]

Letter I have says "Thank you for contacting our customer service center. Due to the age of the item requested, the application copy is no longer available". Thank you all for your advice.

[catleg]

I think you need to get all 3 of your credit reports pronto and try to figure out what your exposure is here. You need to hire a lawyer, for the reasons BB and HHM mention above.

If this account is not listed on any of those credit reports, or is listed as authorized user, that makes a pretty strong inference that the account is not yours. If it says JOINT with ... then you have a problem.

Your lawyer may push you to try and negotiate a settlement. You need some documentation to help prove or disprove that you have a case.

Most courts are extremely plaintiff-friendly so you need to be prepared for that, this is not like Law and Order where you can throw up all kind of defenses. If this is still with the original creditor you may be in a tough spot. So get the credit reports and get a lawyer.

[jribe]

contact your state BAR association and look for their PRO BONO resources. These are attorney's that work for free, in certain situations.

BTW- The letter that was send really appears to be a form letter sent out; i don't know how much weight could be put on that. They may have an agreement somewhere and the rep couldn't find it- or didn't look hard enough.

Also- when was the last time you used the card? And how much of the 15k would you say you used?

The "i don't know" plea will NOT work with a judge.

You need some legal assistance. Call the BAR and call around and get some consults for your situation. Be very detailed with these attorneys - don't leave anything out that could affect the case.