Got sued?

[womanonfire]

Today someone knocked on the door with a letter I didn't answer but heard and saw him out the window. He also had one of those hand held devices that delivery people use. He sat at the bottom of my drive about 10 min. then drove further into the subdivision. I saw him drive out about 20 min. later and it is a small subdivision.

I think it may be a process server for a business debt that we owe.

Did anyone get sued before they filed and for what and by whom? How late were you when you got served? I read that Capital One is the card most likely to sue.

[shipo]

I received a summons during the time my lawyer and I were writing up my filing documentation; she asked me for the summons and informed the complaining party I had engaged legal support; I do not remember if she told them we were filing a Chapter 13 or not. Regardless, that debt was included in my filing and I never heard from them again.

[womanonfire]

I received a summons during the time my lawyer and I were writing up my filing documentation; she asked me for the summons and informed the complaining party I had engaged legal support; I do not remember if she told them we were filing a Chapter 13 or not. Regardless, that debt was included in my filing and I never heard from them again.

Thanks for the reply. Do you recall how late you were?

[shipo]

Thanks for the reply. Do you recall how late you were?

Late? Late as in how long since my last payment? I believe it was 13 months.

[womanonfire]

Late? Late as in how long since my last payment? I believe it was 13 months.

Yes that was what I was wondering. I'm trying to hold off on filing until October and I stopped paying everything around last Oct. However I have payment arrangements set up with all my creditors with the exception of BOA, Cap One Walmart, Regular Cap One, Overstock card and a Citi card under a dissolved business name. I also have an old business loan with through Paypal that I'm starting to get concerned about. I let my husband handle the sell of the business as I was going through a massive depression and I'm not sure if he handled it correctly.

[shipo]

Yes that was what I was wondering. I'm trying to hold off on filing until October and I stopped paying everything around last Oct. However I have payment arrangements set up with all my creditors with the exception of BOA, Cap One Walmart, Regular Cap One, Overstock card and a Citi card under a dissolved business name. I also have an old business loan with through Paypal that I'm starting to get concerned about. I let my husband handle the sell of the business as I was going through a massive depression and I'm not sure if he handled it correctly.

Keep your lawyer updated on the summons attempts, and if you get served, give it to him or her immediately.

[womanonfire]

Keep your lawyer updated on the summons attempts, and if you get served, give it to him or her immediately.

Not sure if I'm going to file pro se or not yet. Going to meet and attorney next week. I've met with two others and spent 30 min. on the phone with another one. The phone attorney asked me if I had a legal background and how I knew so much about bankruptcy, then encouraged me to go to law school. He said after talking to me, he knew I'd excel. lol. I'm just kinda over lawsuits in general and think I prefer to pass it off, it's just going to depend on costs.

[flashoflight]

Don't dodge a summons. Open the door when it's knocked. You need to know about it to file an answer pro se to stall for time. I know it costs big money to file an answer, but that's better than no answer -> judgment -> lien/levy/garnishment. In many places, they will pretend to serve you and start the clock ticking early without your knowledge.

If you file BK in the next month or two, you will save money from not having to file and pay for an answer. Pay the BK lawyer, not the court fees to answer.

[womanonfire]

Don't dodge a summons. Open the door when it's knocked. You need to know about it to file an answer pro se to stall for time. I know it costs big money to file an answer, but that's better than no answer -> judgment -> lien/levy/garnishment. In many places, they will pretend to serve you and start the clock ticking early without your knowledge.

If you file BK in the next month or two, you will save money from not having to file and pay for an answer. Pay the BK lawyer, not the court fees to answer.

You actually have to pay the court to file an answer? That seems odd.

[flashoflight]

You actually have to pay the court to file an answer? That seems odd.

Oh yeah you have to pay to file an answer at the court and you pay dearly. It is big money in California depending on the size of the debt (for $25k+ case it is $435, $10k-$25k is $375, $225 for less than $10k). The cost of stalling could rise to the upfront fee of a BK attorney real fast with a couple of sue-happy creditors. Maybe it's cheap to answer a lawsuit pro se in Georgia... I dunno.

[shipo]

Oh yeah you have to pay to file an answer at the court and you pay dearly. It is big money in California depending on the size of the debt (for $25k+ case it is $435, $10k-$25k is $375, $225 for less than $10k). The cost of stalling could rise to the upfront fee of a BK attorney real fast with a couple of sue-happy creditors. Maybe it's cheap to answer a lawsuit pro se in Georgia... I dunno.

Interesting, while I was working with my attorney on my filing, one of my creditors, from California no less, served me with a summons. I immediately handed the summons over to her and she "dealt with it" from New Hampshire. I didn't hear from then again until after the filing when folks were making claims.

[flashoflight]

Interesting, while I was working with my attorney on my filing, one of my creditors, from California no less, served me with a summons. I immediately handed the summons over to her and she "dealt with it" from New Hampshire. I didn't hear from then again until after the filing when folks were making claims.

Yep. If OP has hired a BK attorney, all of the summons, letters, and phone calls go to the attorney. But the creditor can still continue with the lawsuit until the BK is actually filed so delaying the filing is bad. Once BK is filed, a good BK attorney will call all of the lawsuit creditors to avoid delays in notification on top of mailing the notices to every creditor.

[shipo]

Yep. If OP has hired a BK attorney, all of the summons, letters, and phone calls go to the attorney. But the creditor can still continue with the lawsuit until the BK is actually filed so delaying the filing is bad.

If I recall correctly, she called them when she got the summons and told them my filing was imminent; not sure if that's what got them to keep quite for the next eight or so weeks, but we didn't hear from them until after the filing.

[flashoflight]

If I recall correctly, she called them when she got the summons and told them my filing was imminent; not sure if that's what got them to keep quite for the next eight or so weeks, but we didn't hear from them until after the filing.

Or it could be a race to the courthouse steps to get that default judgment and record a lien on any real estate in the same county especially if there is non-exempt equity to be had. If there is an answer, a creditor would probably just stop doing any discovery work on the lawsuit because it's eventually going to be dismissed anyway by the BK. Now if the OP is pro se in the BK, it's all just an empty threat until there is a case number and the creditors are not going to slow down.

[justbroke]

I was just going to write about the race to the courthouse steps, but you beat me to it!

[womanonfire]

If I recall correctly, she called them when she got the summons and told them my filing was imminent; not sure if that's what got them to keep quite for the next eight or so weeks, but we didn't hear from them until after the filing.

I wondering if it's good to let them know in advance that you're filing. Like Dear Credit Card, I'm filing bankruptcy as soon as I get your lawsuit so go ahead and waste your money...

What court do they usually file in?