Update on JDB suits

[treehugger1]

I finally had a bit of time to go down to my courthouse and research local suits from junk-debt-buyers CACH,LVNV,etc. There were approximately 35 suits commenced by LV dating back to 2006. There were a few for CACH. There were 5 or 6 suits where the defendant (debtor) filed an answer. All of these were pro se. I asked the clerk to pull the files so I could review the cases. Interestingly, all of those answered led to motions to dismiss filed by the plaintiff's attorney. There is the service, the answer, and then I start to see plaintiffs' motions for continuances to put off hearing dates. Then, for whatever reason, the plaintiff's attorney files a motion to dismiss. In all of the dozens of non-answered suits, default judgments were granted.

There does seem to be a spark of truth in providing an answer and maybe the other side will fold their cards. At least locally, and with respect to JDB's. I was stunned at how some of the defendant's answered their suits. They appear to be using a simple form that is accepted by our local court system. There are two parts. Part 1 is a place for you to admit paragraphs in plaintiff's complaint, and part 2 is a place to deny. You can also state a general denial. In all cases, the defendants did not respond to each paragraph. It appears that in our local court if you can't deny or admit, then you simply do not answer.

Some of the answers were handwritten, and others were carefully typed. In all cases, it appears that the local judges do not rubber stamp suits for JDB attorney firms.

In one case, the defendant had not mailed a copy of their answer (response) to the plaintiff's attorney by certified mail. They did file the answer with the court. The plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment and order for default judgment, etc. The judge denied the motion stating that the defendant was probably not clear in his/her duties. This was then followed by hearing dates with the plaintiff's attorney not showing and eventually filing a motion to dismiss the case.

It was a great visit. I learned a ton.

I wonder why there is a consistent pattern of the plaintiff's attorney fioling for continuances, prior to the initial case hearing. Perhaps, when a suit is answered they do a bit more research to determine if there are necessary documents available from the JDB. It is also the case that Oregon has mandatory arbitration. Perhaps, this additional cost to plaintiff is not worth it.

Just thought I would share.

[DYLAN150]

Tree: thanks for posting.

[BigJohn]

Nice info.

[ryan]

Very interesting....thanks.

Just to look at it from the defendants standpoint for a moment, I think the one reason why more defendants don't file an answer is the cost...depending on the court it was filed in (small claims, etc) in the jurisdiction I'm in, it can cost $175 just to answer. I'll bet a lot of defendants figure they are going to lose anyway, so why throw good money after bad.

What your research seems to point to is some evidence that JDB's often aren't willing to move forward if there is any pushback from the defendant...and maybe they don't have sufficient docs to win. If more defendants knew that, maybe they would invest the answer filing fee in hopes of getting the case dismissed.

[IamOld]

Treehugger as always, kudos to your fight on behalf of all of us.

When our suit by lender was made a "non-suit" dismissed because of BK filing, I was pleasantly surprised that quite a few (of the several HUNDRED) sued by the same law firm a) showed up, b) got dismissals, or got trials several months into the future!!!!

[treehugger1]

I don't think there is any doubt that in some states the filing fees are costly. Here it costs approximately $190 to file an answer in circuit court. In addition, there is the cost of serving your answer on the plaintiff's attorney. Although, return-receipt mail is allowed.

As mentioned, there were far to few answers to establish any real fact about what might happen. I'm also not sure if some of the defendants filed for bankruptcy. That does not show up in the civil court files that I could see.

It was also quite clear that a great deal of time passes after service and answer. Just getting served gives the defendant 30 days to answer. Then it seemed as if there was another 30 -45 until an initial hearing. Even then, there were 30-45 day continuance requests, etc. I suppose both parties could play the continuance game. The file folders are full of examples of how the attorneys request a continuance.

I intend to make another trip into town and examine other JDB suits; Midland, Calvary, etc. I'll report back what I discover.

If others find time to do such research, please inform us of your discoveries

[HHM]

Also, a lot depends on the area. From my perspective, only 35 suits since 2006 is not very many, that is probably an average for a month or a quarter in major metropolitan areas.

Here they don't tend to dismiss, when a person files an answer, the case proceeds to the next level (especially if the person is pro se). Even though it requires more time, the likelyhood of winning is very high for the plaintiff because the pro se person (on average) is not going to know how to litigate the issue of evidence.

[Freddy03]

Also, a lot depends on the area. From my perspective, only 35 suits since 2006 is not very many, that is probably an average for a month or a quarter in major metropolitan areas.

Here they don't tend to dismiss, when a person files an answer, the case proceeds to the next level (especially if the person is pro se). Even though it requires more time, the likelyhood of winning is very high for them because the pro se person (on average) is not going to know how to litigate the issue of evidence.

This seems to be the case in FL as well.

[albacore44]

mabee it's a national trend. i heard from a friend that had 2 citi cards defaulted and assigned to the Moore Law group. He received a summons, case was filed, and he did not file an answer. Out of the blue he receives a letter from Moore stating they were abandoning the case, and sending it back to Citi. Moore must have lots of money to waste

[treehugger1]

Albacore, You are as beautiful as ever! It is all pretty strange. I have two citi judgments. In my local district court, and in many states, a default judgment can be granted if the plaintiff's attorney submits evidence of the money owed. In my case, the evidence was a signed affidavit from some person at "Citigroup." I'm hearing "rumors" that perhaps these affidavits can be disputed. This may be why the plaintiff's attorney in my case has not filed for wage garnishment, etc. I spoke with the attorney months ago and explained that the only way to collect on the judgment was to get in line for 10% wage garnishment. I bent over backwards to help them. On the other hand, I have a year to dispute and file a motion against the default judgment. Perhaps they are waiting out a year to see if I challenge the default judgment on the basis of a false affidavit.

HHH, You are right in that there are not that many suits in my area. However, proportional to the population, the number of suits are probably quite similar. What I did learn is that defendants here appear to be given the benefit of the doubt. It seems that those who file an answer never have to worry about their knowledge of "litigating the issue of evidence." It is also somewhat amusing that judges here are elected. There is no requirement (that I know of) that they have some background in law. Pretty cool. They are truly my peers.

My comments only refer to my local research and rules of law and civil procedure. I do suggest that anyone interested in their area go to their courthouse and research their own court documents.

[GoingDown]

I think, yes, it depends on the area-- metro areas have a lot of attorneys, which means lots of competition for these junk debt buyer portfolios-- and some of them are willing to waste huge amounts of time on every lawsuit if it means that a few of them end up paying the entire debt back after being sued. The odds are in their favor of hitting the jackpot every once in awhile with a debtor who can't stand to lose his assets or wages, and has the means to pay back the debt entirely, plus legal fees. So, even if most of the lawsuits end up with judgments against debtors who cannot pay them, the few who do pay them make up for the rest of them, because the JDB only paid a few pennies for each dollar of debt bought.

In the rural areas, there isn't as much competition for these JDB accounts, so the attorneys might be a bit more picky about what they spend their time on. If a debtor resists at all, they might feel it is not worth their time, and simply move on to lower hanging fruit.

I also think that being proactive, by responding to the initial communication letter from the junk debt buyer and their collection agencies, being assertive about your FDCPA rights, and letting them know they are in for a fight, helps to keep them from bothering to sue you. They know your account will be more effort and that you are likely to fight them all along the way, making it nearly impossible to get paid back for what they expend trying to collect on your account.

[HHM]

HHH, You are right in that there are not that many suits in my area. However, proportional to the population, the number of suits are probably quite similar. What I did learn is that defendants here appear to be given the benefit of the doubt. It seems that those who file an answer never have to worry about their knowledge of "litigating the issue of evidence." It is also somewhat amusing that judges here are elected. There is no requirement (that I know of) that they have some background in law. Pretty cool. They are truly my peers.

My comments only refer to my local research and rules of law and civil procedure. I do suggest that anyone interested in their area go to their courthouse and research their own court documents.

I wasn't disagreeing with you or anything, just pointing out that it is, and can be different, in different areas.

[treehugger1]

I didn't think you were disagreeing. I can see from my response that it appears argumentative. I'll try to keep that reined in. Thanks, and yes I agree that area seems to make a big difference. I'm going to be spending soem time up state this summer in the big city. I'm curious to take a day and check their records.

It is frustrating that while Oregon has th ecircuit court info online, you have to pay to access it from a home computer. Otherwise, local case information is free on the public computers at the courthouse.