Court date bumped up-What do I need to bring?

[merime]

My court date has been bumped up to January 24th. It scared me to see my name listed under bench trials. It was interesting to see the law firm representing Citi is suing a few other people on the same day as me. My question is do I need to bring any documents. I don't have statements since Citi took away my ability to view my account online way back. Thanks for any words of wisdom!!

[HHM]

Well, what do you really hope to accomplish? I suspect you filed the answer to delay the entry of judgment, but you owe the debt. What is your end game scenario? My sense is, as is with most cases like this (unless you have a lawyer) is that the outcome will be the same regardless if you show up; that is, entry of judgment against you. (sorry to say)

[merime]

I know I will get a judgement, I just don't know what to expect or how to prepare verbal answers to questions that may be asked. I am seeing a lawyer tommorow to see what my options are. From experience, the wisdom of this forum are worth mopre than what attorneys say. Just want to prepare as much as possible.

[WhatMoney]

I know I will get a judgement, I just don't know what to expect or how to prepare verbal answers to questions that may be asked. I am seeing a lawyer tommorow to see what my options are. From experience, the wisdom of this forum are worth mopre than what attorneys say. Just want to prepare as much as possible.

On 12/08/2010 you posted this:

I called the phone number listed on my scheduling notice from the court house. I wanted to find out what time to show up and if there was anything I should bring with me. I'am being sued by Citicards on Jan 31,2011. The person who took my call said that the law firm handling Citi's case will most likely send me a notice of summary judgement before the court date. She said to watch for mail from the law firm, and that I would need to go on the date specified by them. I really don't understand. I intend to be at the courthouse on the court date, but am worried now of a surprise attack. I finally have an appt with a lawyer on the 27th. He said he would walk me through what to expect in court. I am starting to think I was a little to late. Has this ever happened to anyone?

Since you are meeting with an attorney tomorrow, I suggest you listen to his advice and ask him your questions. Then you tell us what he said.

We have no idea what you wrote in your answer. That would determine whether you need to bring any documents to court. If you have a good defense you may be asked to verify it. I suspect you have no defense, and the judge will just approve the summary judgment for the plaintiff, in which case it really makes no difference what you bring to court.

And you might note that by answering the summons you did not delay your hearing, you accelerated it. So unless you plan on fighting this case with a strong defense requiring more motions and discovery requests, all you have accomplished is an early summary judgment, instead of a delayed default judgment.

My only advice on attending court is to not hide any guns, knives, or gold chains on your body, because you will set off the metal detector.

[merime]

thanks I figured that!! Actually had a good laugh a few weeks ago-(off subject). A Victorias Secret collector asked if I could make a $25.00 payment. I said no checking account , no debit or master card. He asked how can you pay? I said you can just charge it to my VS account-:0) i know bad.

[HHM]

The hearing is a quasi trial. Depending on the nature of the case, the plaintiff will probably have some witness appear by telephone (usually some clerk at the collection agency). Then the judge will ask you to cross examine. Then the judge will ask if you have any witnesses. Then you may either testify (but if you do, you will be subject to cross examination).

[treehugger1]

I love all this guessing about
what might happen. Here is my guess. Since you will be heard by the judge (bench,) I suspect he/she might review both plaintiff's complaint and your answer. I am also curious whether or not you answered with any affirmative defenses.

This is an attorney representing Citi, not a collection agency. In my experience, the attorney may offer a signed and notorized affidavit referencing the debt. Now here is an interesting side-note. From what I can gather (may not be true in all cases) the affidavit will be from some employee at CitiCorp, not CitiBank who probably offered you or backed the original credit card. There could be an interesting discussion related to the affidavit.

By all means, let us know what happens and what questions your attorny asks. I would be interested to know if an affidavit is supplied and what questions are raised.

I'm just guessing

Best to you. TH

[GoingDown]

From my experience watching other small claims court cases as an observer, a lot depends on the judge you get. If the judge is not sypathetic to debtors, the case will be over very quickly, within minutes. There won't be much time to do anything. The judge seemed to take more time with landlord / renter evictions than with credit card debt lawsuits. There was one attorney standing there with a huge envelop full of lawsuits, and most of the debtors never showed up, and the judge just ran through them very quickly, and even when someone did show up, he got to the bottom of the matter very quickly with some tricky questions, most of the time the debtors admitted to owing some or all of the debt but just couldn't afford to pay it, and the judge didn't care, he just quickly entered a judgment against them and moved on to the next case.

[merime]

I think I have finally grasped that its all just a process. I really have come a long way. I understaqnd now that a judgement is going to happen, and it is not the end of the world. There are bigger dragons to slay. Thank you for sharing court experiences, that has put my mind at ease .

[chicagoannie]

I think I have finally grasped that its all just a process. I really have come a long way. I understaqnd now that a judgement is going to happen, and it is not the end of the world. There are bigger dragons to slay. Thank you for sharing court experiences, that has put my mind at ease .

You'll be fine - you'll get through it. Please do let us know what happens - I never went to court when the lawsuits started - just waited for the default judgments, so I am curious about what occurs.