Re: motion for summary judgment

Posted by Cheryl (129.44.214.239) on September 19, 2003 at 23:09:35:

In Reply to: motion for summary judgment posted by lost in OK on September 17, 2003 at 08:26:11:

This is coming from someone who works in the legal profession and has experience with collection agencies and attorneys. I hope this information helps.

When you’re served with a summons and complaint in a collection matter and you have a valid dispute, you should immediately, and I mean immediately, send a letter to the attorney stating that you dispute the debt. This is not the same as answering a complaint. Once you answer a complaint and assert an affirmative defense, you then have to prove it. In your case you were asserting that the interest rate you were being charged was in violation of your state’s statute. This is why they slapped you with the interrogatories and request for production of documents. This puts the debtor behind the eight ball. Most people just can’t answer so the creditor winds up winning. The best thing you can probably do to answer a complaint is just assert a general denial of all claims.

My best advice to anyone who has been served with a motion for summary judgment is to appear in court on the return date to argue your case before a judge. I live in the northeast and in my experience, the vast majority of judges here do not look kindly on debt collectors, especially if they are dealing with a debtor who is representing him or herself and doesn’t have an attorney. They will usually try to get the creditor to agree to payment terms that are within the debtor’s means and force the collector to waive interest as long as the debtor abides by the payment arrangement. I hope this helps.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup