Received informational subpoena

[awc8587]

I received a information subpoena from one of the creditor's law firm. I was wondering if I could try to contact the law firm to work out a deal right now and not have to return the subpoena?

[lrprn]

I received a information subpoena from one of the creditor's law firm. I was wondering if I could try to contact the law firm to work out a deal right now and not have to return the subpoena?

A few questions first....

What exactly do you mean by "an information subpoena"? Did the notice come from the court? Does it have court-issued numbers on it? Is there a hearing date set? Do you intend to file bankruptcy before the case goes to court?

[awc8587]

It came from the law firm. It basically says a judgment has been made against me, and now they command me to fill out the questionnaire for the information subpoena. There is no hearing date. And no I do not plan to file BK. I would like to settle it if possible.

[jlmaca]

It came from the law firm. It basically says a judgment has been made against me, and now they command me to fill out the questionnaire for the information subpoena. There is no hearing date. And no I do not plan to file BK. I would like to settle it if possible.

If a judgement has been made against you I'd think that you would know that and have the legal document from the court saying so. Did you go to court? Did you miss your court date and receive a default judgement? If so you will eventually have to fill out this paperwork and either work out a deal with the law firm or they will pursue the matter and force you to fill it out. At that point the court will determine how much you pay and can garnish your wages.

[frogger]

It came from the law firm. It basically says a judgment has been made against me, and now they command me to fill out the questionnaire for the information subpoena. There is no hearing date. And no I do not plan to file BK. I would like to settle it if possible.

No. No. No.

Not "basically" says...... What does it "exactly" say.

Don't do anything yet. Let us know exactly what the paper says and then let's talk about it some more.

[flyinbroke]

Seconding what Frogger said....you SHOULD know if you were supposed to be in court, depending on what state you are in would depend on how you would be served. I am still learning a lot here but as far as I know a judgment does NOT happen without going to court.

Something smells mighty fishy...and it smells like someone is fishing for info they may not need yet. There are plenty of people who can help here...who have been through the system. What EXACTLY does this "subpoena" say?

[StartingOver08]

As pointed out above, it is a common tactic for the creditor's attorney (or even the CA itself) to send you something that looks like a legal document and it is not. Did you verify independently with your court the judgment? Do you have a copy of it from the court? Did you get notice before the judgment was issued or was this one of those 'sewer service' type deals? If the CA sent you something that looks like a judgment and it is not, they have violated the FDCPA and you can file suit against them. This happens more frequently than you would imagine. In addition to posting the specifics here, you might also take a look at www.creditinfocenter.com in the forum section labeled "Is there an Attorney in the House" to get an idea of what you can do to respond.

[AngelinaCatHub]

A subpoena has to be delivered legally and not just by mail. Sometimes certified mail works but it has to have a statement of delivery on the bottom proving it was sent legally.

The first thing you must do is see if you factually have a Judgment against you. You can do this at your Courthouse. If you have no Judgment, they are blowing smoke. Usually a document for information is part of the "discovery" process. It is usually called an "interrogatory" in the form of a written statement. This is equal to a sworn statement or a 'deposition'. I believe you are being lied to, unless you get a docket number from the Judgment. (case number) 'Hub

[WhatMoney]

It would also be helpful to know what state you are in. It is common for "fact information sheets" to be sent as a subpoena by the plaintiff's lawyer after a judgment in some states. Also depends on what kind of court - small claims, district, superior, etc. Your action depends on the details you need to supply here.

Here is a typical Fact Information form sent out by Florida attorneys after a judgment, for example:
http://www.formsworkflow.com/d70209.aspx

Note the court case name and case # should be included on the form.

[southernbelle]

Either you are being sued or not and you shouldn't get a "fishing" letter from anyone if you are truly being sued. If you check with the court and it is not an official court document, I wouldn't suggest filling it out or doing anything with it because it's probably bogus!

Sounds like someone is attempting to gather personal information about you to use against you later.

[GoingDown]

Seconding what Frogger said....you SHOULD know if you were supposed to be in court, depending on what state you are in would depend on how you would be served. I am still learning a lot here but as far as I know a judgment does NOT happen without going to court.

Something smells mighty fishy...and it smells like someone is fishing for info they may not need yet. There are plenty of people who can help here...who have been through the system. What EXACTLY does this "subpoena" say?

They are fishing for information, and if you voluntarily give it to them, you are making their job easy for them and they will turn around and use the information against you. And they will in fact be more aggressive with you because they will know that you can be made to do almost anything for them. If you make it hard on them, costing them time, their time is money, they will be less likely to pursue you.

[Bell30656]

Check with your local court. If the document was not "served" upon you well, it didn't happen any way. I received a "Notice to Appear" from a collection attorney for Ugly Duckling/Drivetime. It looked pretty much like a court document but local courthouse quickly dispelled that myth when they told me that no cases were pending against me and that no judgments had been entered.

[JustFileSuit]

Sorry to disagree with the posters above.

If the document states that you have a Judgment against you, then you probably already do. You are "probably" a victim of "sewer service," where the process server just tosses your Summons and Complaint into the sewer, then goes and files a return of Service with the Court, and the Court (not knowing any different) just goes ahead and defaults you, and the scumbag attorneys on the other side working for the collections outfit or the bottom-feeders that bought the loan go file for, and receive, A Judgment.

Now watch out: if they have a Judgment, and "if" they send you a post-judgment Interrogatiory, which is what this looks like, THEN if you ignore it they can apply for a bench warrant (in some States) on the grounds of a Contempt. And you get tossed in jail, not for the debt, for for Contempt of Court in the efforts to collect on the Judgment!!! happens in NY routinely.

SO, to derail all this, you have to act fast. Step !: go to the court house and look up the case (there is a case number or a docket number on that Information they sent you) and find out what happened. If they have a Judgment and you never were served, then you IMMEDIATELY file a Motion to Open Judgment, together with a sworn Affidavit of yours stating that you never were served, and you pay a small filing fee (probably about $60) to Open, and then you challenge the Court's Jurisdiction over the person on the grounds of failure of Service. (And you probably have to file a separate document titled "Appearance" in order to get your foot in that door).

Once you do that, you can stall off the "Information" document for quite some time, as the underlying Motion effectively challenges the Court's jurisdiction to do anything in the case, and that issue has to be determined.

And with that Moton to Open, once granted, you immediately file a Motion to Dismiss, again on the grounds of defective service, and yet again a second Affidavit setting forth again the same facts, that you were not served with the Summons and Complaint, and then you go tussle that one out.

And if any of that is granted, then (if this were me, and I am insanely litigious, but you already figured that out) I would file a whopper lawsuit against the creditor and the law firm for abuse of process and unfair trade practices and whatever else you can dream up, and also ask for an order to Show Cause for injunctive relief, preventing them from moving forward on the underlying debt issue, and then they are all tangled up in knots...

And then their liability insurers have to get into the act and then it is settlement talk time and how much money do you need to settle your claims and make it all go away...

[frogger]

Sorry to disagree with the posters above.

Sorry but there is nothing to disagree upon yet. The OP has not responded with exactly what was on the letter, therefore none of us knows what the letter said.

What about it OP? What did the letter state?

[OHBOY]

Quote'JustFileSuit':"IMMEDIATELY file a Motion to Open Judgment, together with a sworn Affidavit of yours stating that you never were served, and you pay a small filing fee (probably about $60) to Open, and then you...."


Here would be my problem: As a layman I would not have the faintest idea as to how to go about filing any 'Motion'....Always wondered if there is some sort of standard form that should or must be used, or if one just composes a 'Motion' using ones own words.

Your input will be appreciated. Maybe you can still make a 'Legal Beaver' out of some of us......