GOT A SUMMONS FROM CITI....Need help on how to answer

[sunshinepa]

Got a summons Friday that Citi is filing a lawsuit..........knew it would happen. My plans to file earlier got suspended due to illness.

Others will soon follow. I would like some advice on how to respond and what then occurs. Should I just send an letter saying I can't deny or confirm or what? Then do they set a court date?

Help from those with experience please.

Thanks!

[tobee43]

have you hired an atty yet for your bk?????

i think most summons ...depending on where in are...(in nj it was 30 days)....give you a time period to answer....so, you can just answer it yourself, and even get a court date, however, hopefully you'll have filed by then and the creditor would receive the auto stay and then all action from the creditor must stop.

if you have an atty, let them take care of it...and if you don't i would just answer with a brief answer denying...

the worse scenario is the creditor gets the judgment and after you bk is discharge you or your atty file a motion to vacate the judgment....and it will be gone either way.

i know this is scary...but it's just par for the course, and it will all go away once your discharged....and follow the correct process to vacate that judgment IF the creditor gets one.

[lillymarlene]

Last March I received my first summons from one of my credit cards. You're right there will probably be more, because it was quickly followed by another. I had to answer mine by sending an answer that I contested it to the Court Clerk. (I ended up later having to attend a pre-trial.)

I'm relatively new here, but its probably best not to ignore these things, else the person suing you will win with a default judgement. I think it's probably best to answer these things, denying them, but trying to buy a little time until you can file bk.

[dgifta]

You can download "Answer"forms on line. Google "how to answer a summons". It will take you to various sites that will
explain lead you to going through whole process. Some of the sites will have sample "Answer" forms.
Choose a form and fill it out and mail or bring it in. Send the original form to the Court. Send a copy to the Plaintiff, and keep a
copy.Send it Certified Return Requested.
It's imperative you answer so they don't get a default judgment,
Keep posting here, people will answer and help.
Do your own due diligence also. Google your questions and you'll learn about the whole process. It's not
fun. It sucks, I hate the whole thing, but it's for your financial survival.
Dennis

[catleg]

Many folks prefer not to answer; it makes little difference either way.
It is mostly a state-by-state issue. In many states it costs to file an answer.
In some states you expose yourself to discovery as part of the case flow.
In others like NJ it is part of the collection process (information subpoena, debtors exam).
The reality is that unless you have a legitimate defense (like identity theft) it makes little difference.
Unless it is a JDB who lacks proper documentation.
You can waste a lot of time and money on certified mail.
Although messing with the legal system can be something of an education.
IMHO none of my pleadings (answers, motions) were ever seen by a judge, just his law clerk. That in itself is an eye opener.
As a beneficial side effect, I've noticed that I have not been called in for jury duty since my 3 year cycle came up last summer.
Maybe they screen us pro-se defendants out of the jury pool as potential troublemakers.

[tobee43]

Many folks prefer not to answer; it makes little difference either way.
It is mostly a state-by-state issue. In many states it costs to file an answer.
In some states you expose yourself to discovery as part of the case flow.
In others like NJ it is part of the collection process (information subpoena, debtors exam).
The reality is that unless you have a legitimate defense (like identity theft) it makes little difference.
Unless it is a JDB who lacks proper documentation.
You can waste a lot of time and money on certified mail.
Although messing with the legal system can be something of an education.
IMHO none of my pleadings (answers, motions) were ever seen by a judge, just his law clerk. That in itself is an eye opener.
As a beneficial side effect, I've noticed that I have not been called in for jury duty since my 3 year cycle came up last summer.
Maybe they screen us pro-se defendants out of the jury pool as potential troublemakers.

we were one of those...never bothered to answer......and i even knew how to! although i did spent a small fortune....in cert mail...what a waste of time that was.....i'm certain all those nice CD letters went to the twilight zone mail room........lost in space and time forever...

[lillymarlene]

Was this a "real" summons from a court?

Many folks prefer not to answer; it makes little difference either way.
It is mostly a state-by-state issue. In many states it costs to file an answer.

I don't know but in my state, I understood that if you don't answer or go to the "pre-trial" or trial, the person suing you will win by default. Last year, BoA sent me a notice and then a summons to the district court, that unless I paid, they were going to put a lien on my property.

[catleg]

Yes a lien on real property is a possibility.
If you have equity in a property this can be a real problem.
If you have no equity (or equity protected by BK exemption) then the lien can be voided as a result of bankruptcy discharge of the underlying debt.
I was sued approx. 10 times prior to filing BK so I got a little experience in how our wonderful civil court system works. (in NJ; Mass is different. In fact
someone posted some horror stories from a Boston newspaper about courts and judges and collections and constables. Yecch. )
My main point is, the only real defense is if you don't owe the debt, or to a lesser degree, if they can't prove it.
Otherwise you're going to lose and end up defending against a judgment.
BK court is really your friend. Regular court is definitely not your friend.

[sunshinepa]

Hi catleg. Did you ever get a property lien? My atty right now is having me get a CMA as I am real close in equity.......that will be how the final determination on a 7 or 13 ends up. He says he will draft an answer but it still might not delay them. I still owe him money and could possibley get filed by mid -April..........if I go hungary next month LOL. Was just wondering if they ever got your lein and what the timeframe might have been once the response time is up.

thanks

[catleg]

I had 3 judgments, 1 against me, 2 against my wife. The house is in my wife's name only.
The judgment against me was docketed against any real property in the state, which I don't have any.
The two against my wife, one was Citi, they immediately filed for wage garnishment, so we immediately filed BK.
The other judgment belonged to Chase, they never attempted any collections (never docketed, never sought garnishment).
Chase sold the debt to a JDB once we filed BK. Citi never filed a BK claim, and I'm not sure who owns it now.
The judgment against me is slowly getting pennies on the dollar through ch13.
There was a slight delay in docketing the judgment as NJ law requires the plaintiff to make a diligent search for personal property before filing for the lien (that is what docketing means). That requirement is satisfied by an "information subpoena" (aka debtors exam) which enabled me to stall another month or two. So basically it depends on how aggressive your creditor is.

[IamOld]

Catleg - question to you - I'm not in NJ but my state is not exactly friendly to debtors either.

Let's say I wind up having to go to court (thankfully I have a legal plan through work that'll pay for the defense...and I may actually have a bit of a fight to put up against let's just say the king of predatory loans) but anyway:

IF we have to go to court and actually go through a trial, and lose (which we would probably lose) in my state they can get a garnishment order w/in 10 days. They DO NOT know where I work now nor do they know where my wife works.

I'm presuming they'll want to conduct an interrogatory - but wouldn't that take a bit longer? Maybe by then I can scrape together half of what there is...to placate them...

[catleg]

Usually stuff like a debtors exam/interrogatory will come to you directly from the plaintiff's lawyers' office, with a deadline to reply.
Otherwise they file a motion with the court for an order to force you to comply .. up to and including possibly some form of "arrest".
So the wheels are greased pretty good. After all society could not function if people could avoid paying their debts willy-nilly.
Sometimes the interrogatory comes during the discovery phase of the trial...a good reason to avoid trial.
Here in NJ it comes afterwards.

[shark66]

Did you ever get a property lien?

Are both the house and the debt in your name only?

Unless the answer to this question is "yes", no one can put a lien on in, not in PA.

Good luck.

[sunshinepa]

Yep, it's all in my name. I just need to buy about 3 weeks of time so I don't get a judgement on my house. They cannot garnish in PA and even if they could, my state employee pension funds (all I have) are exempt from being frozen.......I would just need to notify the bank ahead of time!

thanks for the response.

[Bell30656]

I'm from a different school of thought. I don't believe in rolling over and making it easy for any OC or JDB to get a judgement against me. I was served with three lawsuits prior to my filing bankruptcy. The first time, I was served 11/2007 by Nemdegelt (JDB) on behalf of Ugly Duckling Car Sales (Drivetime). The second time I was served 02/2008 by Nemdegelt (JDB) on behalf of Bank of America. The third time I was served 11/2008 by World Finance (OC).

None of these cases resulted in judgement and all were still waiting for their day in court when I filed Chapter 7 in 12/2008.

I'm not a lawyer and don't have any legal training. I just like to argue. I went down to my local courthouse and pulled up cases where this company NEMDEGELT (also known as Associates Receivables or David Hershkowitz) sued other people. I found a case where a high priced local attorney had filed an answer. I paid a couple quarters for photocopies then went home and used Microsoft Word to create a copy changing the pertinent information to match my case. Basically, I denied everything except my name, address and the jurisdiction of the case.

Next, I got sent a list of interrogatories. Again, I visited the courthouse researched a couple cases and gleaned much information. This time I objected to most of the questions for various reasons; Not relevant to the case, Information more readily available to the plaintiff, etc., etc. I sent them some really fun interrogatories where I asked all kind of wonderful questions. I demanded production of lots of documents even asked for complete itemized copies of David Hershkowitz cell phone bill. His lawyer used about the same objections that I did. He filed a motion for a summary judgement. I filed an objection to his motion demanding my day in court. Two times I had to actually go to court but both times it was over in minutes.

My answer to the second one was easier... I just changed the case number, plaintiff information and reprinted. I did not mail any of the documents certified mail. Instead I filed them at the courthouse getting the official stamp upon them. I put the paperwork in a stamped envelope and mailed it off from the courthouse.

I figure he spent a fair amount of money having local attorneys show up for him and he got nada in return. I spent a couple bucks in photocopies.

If all you need is three weeks, that is easy.