finally got served

[tacomeat]

ok, so i finally answered the door and accepted the papers from one of my creditors who is suing me. as far as i know, this is the only one.


i read the sticky about how to go about responding, but have some specific questions.


1. the short of it is that i do owe (obviously). the complaint attached a copy of my last statement. but i was wondering if i could buy some time by disputing the full value they are suing for. a couple months ago, i got a letter from the law firm to settle the debt for about 50% of the total. im sure it wouldnt fly, but would it at least buy me some time to dispute and then provide some semblance of reasoning to contest the amount using that settlement offer as my "evidence?" - and would i provide this "evidence" with my response?

1a. - or is there another tactic to use to buy time. i mean, i dont want to get too heavily into a trial process since i dont have an attorney for this. i just want to do what i can to answer myself and stall the process.

2. if i answer every point with "insufficient knowledge to confirm or deny" - does that help me or hurt me? does it buy me any time? does it do anything for me, as compared to doing nothing and not even answering?

3. the bottom line is im wondering if its worth it to even answer the complaint? i have no legitimate defense to put forth, so my only desire at this point is to further delay the inevitable judgment (with the goal of filing bk in sept. - which would be 1 year after my last charge). so my hope is to delay this judgment by another month or so, and, assuming it would take them another month to try and come after my paltry assets, i would be filing bk around the same time. good strategy?

thx

i guess i should say that i accepted the papers a couple weeks ago, and i think my response is due by this friday if i remember right.

which also raises another question for me - HOW do you respond? do i just type something up on my own paper? do i mail it in to the court, or personally drop it off?

[ryan]

In observing what happens in our local court, I would suggest you to deny the charges in the complaint. Even just denying the total amounts should be enough for the judge to set a trial date. ....and at least in my area, that date could be 2 to 3 months away.

So it would buy you more time.

[catleg]

I would not even bother responding. You're close enough to your target date for filing that you should have no problem. You might choose to contact the court and request an extension of time to file an answer while you retain an attorney. That should buy you a little time.

[daytona]

I'd answer and deny all...will certainly delay any judgement past Sept file date...Make 'em waste resources...I mean something like 93% of all credit card suits go unanswered which = auto Default judgement... but even if they do get a DJ, the BK will trump...I just like to make 'em work...

[jacko]

Welcome to the club..
Be proactive by protecting your cash.

ok, so i finally answered the door and accepted the papers from one of my creditors who is suing me. as far as i know, this is the only one.


i read the sticky about how to go about responding, but have some specific questions.


1. the short of it is that i do owe (obviously). the complaint attached a copy of my last statement. but i was wondering if i could buy some time by disputing the full value they are suing for. a couple months ago, i got a letter from the law firm to settle the debt for about 50% of the total. im sure it wouldnt fly, but would it at least buy me some time to dispute and then provide some semblance of reasoning to contest the amount using that settlement offer as my "evidence?" - and would i provide this "evidence" with my response?

1a. - or is there another tactic to use to buy time. i mean, i dont want to get too heavily into a trial process since i dont have an attorney for this. i just want to do what i can to answer myself and stall the process.

2. if i answer every point with "insufficient knowledge to confirm or deny" - does that help me or hurt me? does it buy me any time? does it do anything for me, as compared to doing nothing and not even answering?

3. the bottom line is im wondering if its worth it to even answer the complaint? i have no legitimate defense to put forth, so my only desire at this point is to further delay the inevitable judgment (with the goal of filing bk in sept. - which would be 1 year after my last charge). so my hope is to delay this judgment by another month or so, and, assuming it would take them another month to try and come after my paltry assets, i would be filing bk around the same time. good strategy?

thx

i guess i should say that i accepted the papers a couple weeks ago, and i think my response is due by this friday if i remember right.

which also raises another question for me - HOW do you respond? do i just type something up on my own paper? do i mail it in to the court, or personally drop it off?

[tacomeat]

saying that i deny everything doesnt seem right. is it akin to pleading "not guilty" at an initial arraignment where its just more of a procedural thing?

i mean, if i deny everything and it turns out that i do owe (which i do, obviously) can i get myself in trouble? is it more like lying under oath?

[tacomeat]

Welcome to the club..
Be proactive by protecting your cash.

how do i do that? set up an offshore bank account for what little i have? lol

my only assets are a few thousand in equity in my car (which is within the limit of the vehicle exemption for my state), on which i still owe and am current on.


then the ira. im still a little fuzzy on how they could get at my ira. i mean, it is protected, but somehow i have to first declare its an asset
for the court to deem it exempt? i guess i just dont know when i would do that.

say they get their judgment. they would then proceed with trying to garnish wages (no job here) or put some kind of hold on my accounts (just the ira), right? so when do i get served with "interrogatories" ? is it after the judgment?

sounds like even if they seize all or part of it, i can still go back and claim it as an exempt asset (but i dont know why they would take it in the first place, if they knew that?)

[daytona]

You are not under oath, period...admit obvious things, but either deny or opt for "insufficiet information to admit or deny" language...no biggie, you are just delaying. If you want, you can seek discovery, etc which will take the CA or OC some significant time and effort to produce...months. Sure they can ask interrogatories which happen before the resolution or "trial" of the case, think of it as discovery on their part determining what you are going to present if it goes to trial...

If you have no job and no real assets, then you are correct, a judgement really has no impact on you...your IRA will be 100% exempt, unless over 1 Million, technically if you recently (like within past few months) stuffed funds new funds into IRA to in essence attempt to exempt, then they could possibly disallow only the recent contributions...not likey to happen...but possible.

However if you are simply trying to delay judgement, for any reason, a simple answer to the suit should buy you many months...Stated simply, if you don't answer they will get a DJ very quickly...only you can determine if it will effect you or matter...It sounds like you plan to BK anyway, but each state and court move at differnt speeds, so if you want to buy time...answer.

[jacko]

I should of said, protect your cash via legal means.

IRA's and 401k's are exempt from creditor seizures. You can open up a WalMart Visa money card that also offers bill pay etc. Its not a checking account.

If you do not have a job, they can't garnish. Also, if you did have a job, the garnishment is up to 25% of your net income after your tax withholdings and exemptions are applied. If you are single and head of household, your first $1004 net income is exempt from garnishment.

how do i do that? set up an offshore bank account for what little i have? lol

my only assets are a few thousand in equity in my car (which is within the limit of the vehicle exemption for my state), on which i still owe and am current on.


then the ira. im still a little fuzzy on how they could get at my ira. i mean, it is protected, but somehow i have to first declare its an asset
for the court to deem it exempt? i guess i just dont know when i would do that.

say they get their judgment. they would then proceed with trying to garnish wages (no job here) or put some kind of hold on my accounts (just the ira), right? so when do i get served with "interrogatories" ? is it after the judgment?

sounds like even if they seize all or part of it, i can still go back and claim it as an exempt asset (but i dont know why they would take it in the first place, if they knew that?)

[catleg]

Filing an answer costs money in some locations.
And where the courts are greased in favor of debt collectors, as they are in NJ, a "deny everything" answer just gets an immediate motion for a summary judgment by plaintiff.
Which you can answer but it takes on a whole new level of complexity. (Arguing about the sufficiency of an affadavit about business records for example).
Your state may be different however.

[tacomeat]

damn, i just called and its $160 to answer. seems like a racket to me.
i would understand if the sued party loses a case, they could be forced to pay the court fees (and maybe thats how it works) but to have to pay upfront simply to answer a complaint thats been served you seems like a way to keep justice from the poor folks, lol.

anyway, since my only reason for replying is to delay the inevitable, and since i probably dont have anything they can attach or garnish anyway, i might as well just let the default judgment happen.


i'll start a new thread inquiring about the next phase of the process...

[ryan]

saying that i deny everything doesnt seem right. is it akin to pleading "not guilty" at an initial arraignment where its just more of a procedural thing?
i mean, if i deny everything and it turns out that i do owe (which i do, obviously) can i get myself in trouble? is it more like lying under oath?

AS already been mentioned, these rules can and do vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I've sat in court (small claims) and watched defendants in CC lawsuits deny the amount, for instance) just ONE item, and the judge would routinely set a court date for months ahead.

If you are trying to buy some time, that might work. ...and no, just contesting or denying a charge does not "get you in trouble'. (at the hearings I've seen no one was under oath anyway)