Failed to comply with the information subpoena.

[GKW]

I recived a letter from a lawyer saying that I was scheduled to appear in court on 10/12/12 and failed to do so. I can't find anywhere any mail from court indicating that I have to be there on that date. Collection agency the lawyer works for already got a default judgement against me in Janury 2012. Also in the letter it says that if I don't comply with the information subpoena a warrant for my arrest shall be issued. How much trouble am I in here?

[99lawdog99]

That information subpoena is a way for them to find out if you have anythjhing such as bank accounts or other assets. If you don't have anything it's no big deal but you really have to answer it or they will get a warrant for your arrest.

[frogger]

Indeed. You must respond to the subpoena.

[tobee43]

oh, yes, you are in nj. the way it works there many times is for some reason the courts "allow" un-proper service of the summons. many of the judges just rubber stamp for the creditors even tho your name is called during the proceedings, you have no clue, usually never notifed, at most, maybe a few collections letter and then BAM.

as stated by the frogger, respond to the subpoena and make certain you send your response by certified signed receipt mail.

i can't tell you how many clients one of the firms i know in nj that people would call who had judgements that were granted without their knowledge. while some of the atty's attempted to straighten out the situation by showing there was absolutely NO prove of service to the debtor, it simply didn't matter. watch you checking accounts and get ALL funds out and keep them out, as they will grab it asap it hits a certain amount and the way they are issued there they can keep hitting you over and over... this is NOT suppose to happen, but we are talking nj here. (we moved out after over 30 years).

best of luck to you and welcome to the forum.

[ValleYum]

oh, yes, you are in nj. the way it works there many times is for some reason the courts "allow" un-proper service of the summons. many of the judges just rubber stamp for the creditors even tho you name is called you have no clue, you were never severed, maybe a few collections letter and then BAM.

Wow, Tobee, I know you say NJ is strict but dayum! What exactly do they sever <gulp>?

[tobee43]

LOL!!!!!!!!!! do you EVER think i'll be able to learn to type!!!!! i'm NOT going to even fix that one ROFL!!

but actually it must have been a subliminal messages with relation to the way the court systems are run in nj. it just happened!!

[Pjmax]

A similar thing happened to me, no court notifications, and I had no idea what that info subpoena was. I ended up speaking with a sympathetic court clerk who mailed me the court's form (which I used instead of the atty's) and instructed me to mail 1 copy to the attorney (certified, return receipt) and mail or hand deliver a copy to the court. I hand delivered, and they stamped my copy (that's 3 total) as received.

What bothers me the most, is that this is how many collection people in NJ at least get away with collection violations. I spoke with another lawyer who specialized in consumer rights, and he said yes the collection firm, in my case was guilty of violations, but because it was clouded by "court errors" he didn't want to pursue it.

[tobee43]

Pj, you said it perfectly and that is why i was so frustrated with the court systems in nj, even working in it for as many years as i did. these so called court errors are intolerable and nothing is ever done about it.

i don't usually do this but we had a case that went to trial, the defense was going to prove that the plaintiff was served. (i just don't know what happen in discovery??? excuse me?).... they excused the jury, and i'm thinking wait a minute here, i know i researched this in out, forwards, backwards, up and down... our client was NEVER served. since this was MY job and my responsibly to supply all the information to our firm it was vital i had done my work correctly or it could have cost our firm the case. ok..recess....defense attys come back looking like the cat that ate not one but two poor little mice. jury still not back...judge puts the plaintiff on the stand the defense atty approaches and hands our client a what was "suppose" to be a green return slip from the post office signed by our client that he rec'd the summons. what a JOKE!!!

it one of those green cards, all right, that apparently someone just drew a line through it, no one signed anything. it looked absolutely brand new and the judge said...nope....this part of the case had to do with a malicious prostitution aspect of the case, as well as prove of service from the court on monies owned. (it was a few million tho..LOL!)

thrown out...jury never heard it...we did win this case. it was in one of the northern county courts by the by.

[Pjmax]

Tobee, there was one time I received a notice of Motion, from the court and atty, with a hearing date of sometime in Jan. which I was preparing to attend. The first week in Dec. I received a 'failure to appear' notice, with all kinds of scary threats of arrest, contempt charges and the sheriff will come and inventory my property, etc. I called the court, and was told the date was changed to something like Dec. 4. When asked why I wasn't notified, the reply was: 'well, you should have received a postcard.' I did not. Eventually the postcard arrived, noting the change in court date. I received it a week after the new date.

[Pjmax]

OP, I would also suggest you call the court clerk and say you would like a copy of your file. There is usually a charge for this, but I was not charged for mine (again, I was fortunate to speak with a sympathetic clerk.) I found MANY filings, etc. that I had never seen before.

All of this eventually led me to working out a payment plan with the collection atty., when I realized I couldn't win and my stomach couldn't take anymore. Several months later, I received a letter from a 'court officer' (yes, that was his title, and I did check him out,) with more scary threats because I had not complied with any court orders. When I spoke with him, he very casually said it was a routine letter and they send it out all the time. When I asked him if he verified this with the collection attorney, he said that wasn't his responsibility, it was up to the attorney.

To shorten the story, the same collection attorney acquired two more of my CC accounts just before I filed Chapter 7. There is no way I would go through that again.

[GKW]

Thank You for all the replies. I have some questions about the subpoena. The paper itself looks different then what I saw online as it fits all the questions on one page. I would like to find out if I have to provide information like my date of birth, ss#, driver's license#, last employer and list of any other judgements that I am aware of. Also I would like to find out if it's a good idea to close my bank account so that I don't have to fill that in. I will be filing for Chapter 7 probably by the end of the year.

[Pjmax]

GKW, I would definitely close your bank account, particularly if you are not filing for awhile. As I mentioned above in my first post, I did not use the form from the atty. which looked a lot like what you describe. Call the clerk at the court (or go there in person if close) and they will give/send you one. It was less detailed than the one sent from the atty. You don't have enough posts for me to PM you yet, or I would ask what part of NJ you are in.

If you want to stall for time, call the atty. and see if they will accept a reasonable payment plan (you still have to answer the subpoena) which might help keep your bank account safe and prevent a wage garnishment before you can file BK. I know it hurts to send them anything, not good advice for everyone, but it worked for me until I could file.

[GKW]

I am currently unemployed so they can't garnish wages and I don't own a house or a car so I'm not really worried about them taking anything. I'm going to close the bank account since there's less than $20 in there and I can always get a new bank account when I'm done with the bankruptcy process and have money to put in it. I'll try and pickup the subpoena from the court and mail that in. They gave me until the end of the month to deliver the information they requested. I'm located in northern NJ.

[GoingDown]

oh, yes, you are in nj. the way it works there many times is for some reason the courts "allow" un-proper service of the summons. many of the judges just rubber stamp for the creditors even tho your name is called during the proceedings, you have no clue, usually never notifed, at most, maybe a few collections letter and then BAM.

as stated by the frogger, respond to the subpoena and make certain you send your response by certified signed receipt mail.

i can't tell you how many clients one of the firms i know in nj that people would call who had judgements that were granted without their knowledge. while some of the atty's attempted to straighten out the situation by showing there was absolutely NO prove of service to the debtor, it simply didn't matter. watch you checking accounts and get ALL funds out and keep them out, as they will grab it asap it hits a certain amount and the way they are issued there they can keep hitting you over and over... this is NOT suppose to happen, but we are talking nj here. (we moved out after over 30 years).

best of luck to you and welcome to the forum.

Definitely get any money out of a checking account, now that you know someone has a judgment against you.

The sad thing is that people continue to think that banks are on their side and will protect their money. Wrong!

Your money is now actually safer as cash stuffed under your mattress than it is in a checking account.

[Pjmax]

GKW, you could try and leave a few dollars in the account, enough to keep it open, and take a chance they won't grab it before you file BK.

Also, be sure and send a copy of your answered questionnaire to the court (also certified, ret. receipt, or hand delivered so they can stamp your copy.) That is extra proof for you in case the attorney says they never received it.

May I ask, why do you need to wait until the end of the year to file? Have you talked to any lawyers yet? I would start interviewing some now. In case it hasn't been mentioned to you, most offer free initial consultations.