Information Subpoena

[Bestbro]

I jusr received a letter from the attorney that filed paperwork and got a default judgement against me for Citibank the holder of my second mortgage. The house is in foreclosure and I am going to file 13 in a couple of months. How can I delay this subpeona or can I ignore it? Or should I supply the information.

Please let me know your thoughts and any advice you can give to handle this.

[newbie2]

A subpoena isn't an invitation, it's a command performance. Supply the info they want, and you may also want to mention that you will be filing for bankruptcy within the next couple of months. Since you are this far in the lawsuit stage, you may want to try to file sooner if you can to avoid a wage garnishment (if your state allows that)

[frogger]

A subpoena isn't an invitation, it's a command performance.

And ignoring a subpoena can result in contempt of court charges, which ain't pretty...

[catleg]

You should not ignore it. The process in NJ is that you will get the information subpoena twice from the creditor attorney, then they will file a "Motion to Enforce Litigants Rights", which is a fancy way of compelling you to answer. If you don't respond by the motion hearing date and are a no show for court (where they will make you sit in the hallway and fill out the same form) the plaintiff can file a motion for arrest, however, it is a special kind of arrest in that they are supposed to deliver you to court during court hours. But really it's better to fill out the information subpoena with partial, incomplete, illegible information...I'm not sure what recourse they have then. The information subpoena is a necessary prerequisite step for them to docket the judgment against any real estate you may own in the state. If you give them bank account info make sure there is no money in them.
Most likely they will go for wage garnishment once they figure out where you work.

[IamOld]

catleg - are you supposed to list ALL of your bank accounts or only where you actually have money? In other words, if I have an acct with a ZERO balance and don't list it....BUT hopefully we'll be filing before this...

[catleg]

I would list just one or two accounts with no money in them. There is no audit procedure for these things that I'm aware of.

[IamOld]

Thanks!!!!!!!!! God willing I won't need to do this.

[corrin69]

I would list just one or two accounts with no money in them. There is no audit procedure for these things that I'm aware of.

Just be careful. Sometimes no response is better than an inaccurate response. You are going to have to sign the form certifying that the answers are true and acknowledging that you are subject to punishment if they are willfully false. You can assume that a partial answer will be considered "willfully false" by a judge.

Still, you have few worries if you are filing in a couple months. Here's why:

1. Your first response to the attorney may be some questions about the form. The question about your personal property is ripe for delay. I'd ask the lawyer if this means that you have to provide a list of everything you own. You could say that you want to be complete in your response, but that you suspect it would take a long time to value and list everying you own. Look for some other things that might not be clear on the face of the form and see if you have other questions. Then wait until the very last day you can (14 days I think) and mail your questions. The lawyer will most likely not be waiting to run to court on the first day he can. He'll probably wait at least a few days to see if it comes in the mail. It will be a week before you receive his response, which, for personal property, will be to value and list the big stuff. The one time I did this, the lawyer's response did not give me sufficient guidance on how to value my assets. So I sent another letter with questions like this, "I am not sure how to figure out the value for my assets. For example, I have a 2001 Honda minivan. Do you want the trade in value, the blue book value, or something else?" This went on for several letters and about two months passed and before I ever gave him one piece of information.

2. Once you respond, his only likely source of money will be your employer. The lawyer will then need to file a wage ganishment application. This will take at least a month from the day the lawyer files (which might not be right away) until the judge signs the garnishment order.

The bottom line is you can easily stall for a couple of months. Just don't lie on the form. The last thing I would want the Trustee to find out at my 341 meeting was that I had recently been held in contempt of court for perjuring myself by lying on a court form.

Also, there is nothing on the form that asks you state how much money you have in your bank accounts. You just have to put the account information on the form. Keep in mind that money sitting in a bank account will be easy for the creditor's lawyer to get. So I wouldn't have any accounts that contain any money in them. Before I filed, I kept my money at home, not in a bank.

[IamOld]

THank you!! Excellent points - however, once I lose the "trial" in my state the lawyer can get a garnishment order 10 days after "judgment" day - they may or may not do an information subpoena...

Just be careful. Sometimes no response is better than an inaccurate response. You are going to have to sign the form certifying that the answers are true and acknowledging that you are subject to punishment if they are willfully false. You can assume that a partial answer will be considered "willfully false" by a judge.

Still, you have few worries if you are filing in a couple months. Here's why:

1. Your first response to the attorney may be some questions about the form. The question about your personal property is ripe for delay. I'd ask the lawyer if this means that you have to provide a list of everything you own. You could say that you want to be complete in your response, but that you suspect it would take a long time to value and list everying you own. Look for some other things that might not be clear on the face of the form and see if you have other questions. Then wait until the very last day you can (14 days I think) and mail your questions. The lawyer will most likely not be waiting to run to court on the first day he can. He'll probably wait at least a few days to see if it comes in the mail. It will be a week before you receive his response, which, for personal property, will be to value and list the big stuff. The one time I did this, the lawyer's response did not give me sufficient guidance on how to value my assets. So I sent another letter with questions like this, "I am not sure how to figure out the value for my assets. For example, I have a 2001 Honda minivan. Do you want the trade in value, the blue book value, or something else?" This went on for several letters and about two months passed and before I ever gave him one piece of information.

2. Once you respond, his only likely source of money will be your employer. The lawyer will then need to file a wage ganishment application. This will take at least a month from the day the lawyer files (which might not be right away) until the judge signs the garnishment order.

The bottom line is you can easily stall for a couple of months. Just don't lie on the form. The last thing I would want the Trustee to find out at my 341 meeting was that I had recently been held in contempt of court for perjuring myself by lying on a court form.

Also, there is nothing on the form that asks you state how much money you have in your bank accounts. You just have to put the account information on the form. Keep in mind that money sitting in a bank account will be easy for the creditor's lawyer to get. So I wouldn't have any accounts that contain any money in them. Before I filed, I kept my money at home, not in a bank.

[corrin69]

THank you!! Excellent points - however, once I lose the "trial" in my state the lawyer can get a garnishment order 10 days after "judgment" day - they may or may not do an information subpoena...

Yikes!! But, the OP is in NJ and I am, unfortunately, familiar with the process here in NJ. He should be able to ward off a garnishment for a couple of months no problem.

[catleg]

The information subpoena in NJ is largely another way to crank up the pressure, and also it qualifies as the mandatory attempt to collect against personal property before docketing the judgment a.k.a. filing a real estate lien. It is apparently standard practice in NJ for casino creditors to get a judgment and then simply file the lien and wait. If you check foreclosure filings there are a surprising number with casino creditors listed on the Lis Pendens. In my case the evil casino never attempted to collect using the information on the form; whereas Citibank for example, immediately went for a wage garnishment against my wife without bothering with an information subpoena (they knew where she worked).

In other words the information on the I.S. form is already known to any half-competent collections lawyer through other means. So, in NJ it is the hurdle they must clear before getting a lien on your real estate, OR, they are really stupid or lazy or just want to harass you.

I'll just add that casino creditors are never known by their real names. E.g. Adamar is/was Tropicana, Marina Associates is Harrah's, Marina District Development Corp is Borgata. I think the only one that uses its real name is Trump.

P.S. So in the case of the OP with a defaulted heloc with Citi, I assume they are trying to docket the judgment in case there is any other property in his name.