Chances are you have been sued by someone in the debt buying industry. Debt buyers will purchase large bundles of charged off accounts, then try to sue on them as if they were their own. They frequently lack substantial documentation to prove their case, but are counting on a very high default rate, or that the consumer will try to defend
themselves.  Chances are you have been served with a genuine lawsuit.  If you
have any doubt, call the court.  Most attorneys that work for the debt buyers will utilize private process servers, which are technically civilian officers of the court, but generally have full time employment elsewhere.

Any plaintiff is certainly within his right to utilize a private process server instead of a court deputy to obtain service. I have done so myself. The more informal appearance of a civilian process server combined with the consumer’s lack of familiarity with the debt
buyer can lead the new defendant to not take the matter seriously. A failure to
answer could result in a default judgment being granted against you. It’s your
choice.  If you never answer, you make it easier for the debt buyer to win a quick default judgment against you for potentially thousands of dollars.

If you are served, one page of the service should include a citation page. This should include the contact information for the court. You can always speak to one of the clerks to verify that the suit has been filed. Or, you should speak with me or another consumer
attorney to discuss what is going on. One good way to tell if you are really
being sued is by looking to see if you are getting solicitation letters from
attorneys who want to defend you. These are generally sent out based on the
public records of court proceedings.

Call me now to discuss your situation. I offer a free consultation.

Debt litigation is a lot like a poker game. My job as a debt defense lawyer is to force the other side to show their cards. The creditors have the burden of proof to prove up each and every element of the cause of action they are seeking recovery for. While this may not sound that complex do you, do you think you can afford the risk of trying to do this all by yourself?

I recently took on a pro bono client from Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. She was considering filing for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. She was being sued by a 3rd party debt buyer claiming to be the assignee of a credit card account that she had defaulted on. After filing an answer and asking for some discovery, the debt buyer dropped their suit, and she elected not to file Bankruptcy. However, about a year before I met with her, she had tried to represent herself against a separate 3rd party debt buyer. She decided to take an agreed judgment and will be paying $150 to 200 per month for several years to come. While I cannot promise a particular result, I am fairly confident that I could have either gotten that case dismissed or negotiated to an amount quite a bit more reasonable. In addition, she paid for her own pre-filing Bankruptcy class which I could have arranged for her to get at no charge. In short she lost money by not hiring an attorney sooner.

If you are indigent and cannot afford a lawyer, there are a number of services available, such as Legal Aid of Northwest Texas that may be able to find an attorney to handle your case pro bono. The Tarrant County Bar Association offers a legal line twice a month where you may call and ask questions of a local attorney who is volunteering his/her time. If you are a veteran, there is a group called the Texas Veterans Legal network that may be able to assist you. If you don’t hire me, get help somewhere. As I stated in my last blog entry, judgments don’t ever really go away.

Call me now for a free consultation.

Many of the people that I talk to seem to believe that they are judgment proof or not worth suing just because they are not rich (whatever that is), or maybe they are going through a rough period in their life. While Texas law provides a number of protections, also known as exemptions, from collection, this does not mean that you can just ignore attempts at collection or lawsuits from creditors.

Did you know that there is no way to exempt your checking account? You may think that you are safe because you only have a few dollars left at the end of the month, but what if a judgment creditor was able to garnish those funds right after you got paid, leaving you with little to nothing to pay your bills with? Still feeling judgment proof?

NOTE: Certain sources of funding such as social security payments may be exempt from collections, but it is your burden of proof to show that they are exempt.

Another thing about getting a judgment is that it creates a cloud on the title of your home. When a plaintiff is successful in obtaining a judgment in court and the deadline for appeal has passed, the plaintiff can then petition the court for a document called an Abstract of Judgment. They can then file this Abstract of Judgment in the deed records of the county where you live. These are public records. This Abstract of Judgment will then be reflected on your credit report. While creditors cannot take away your homestead, the lien will show up anytime someone researches your house, such as a potential buyer or an oil and gas landman wanting to lease or buy your mineral rights. When you go to sell the house, if you attempt to get title insurance on your new home, the title insurance provider may very well stipulate that you pay off this lien before you can get title insurance or sell your house.

An Abstract of Judgment is good for 10 years. At the end of the period it may be renewed for another 10 years on request of the creditor. While you may be broke now it does not mean you will be this way forever. However, with an outstanding judgment, if you get a nice raise at your job, a better job, an inheritance, a nice judgment against someone else, or win the lottery, that judgment creditor will want a piece of the action.

Debt collectors that secure an Abstract of Judgment against you may not be able to collect anything immediately from you, but they can wait until you either need to sell your home or receive money from someone else, such as an inheritance. They will be promptly notified that your financial situation is changing, and they will be ready to collect before you can do anything to avoid them. Don’t expect you are not judgment proof until you review the facts of your case with an attorney. Call me today.

In short, no. Bankruptcy is a big step. You should consider all your legal options before deciding if you should file. A thorough examination of the disputed amount, type, and status of your debt situation is very important. I recently helped a pro bono client through a local Legal Aid provider. She was convinced that she needed to file bankruptcy. She had several outstanding debts and was currently in the process of trying to defend herself pro se in the Justice of the Peace Court against a third party debt buyer company.

A debt buyer is a company that buys up large portfolios of accounts that have been charged off by the original creditor. They file their suits in County or Justice Courts, hoping you will ignore them. Their case goes to court, with or without you. If you do not defend yourself, the court will award them the judgment. However, they frequently lack the documentation that they need to prove their cases. In this particular case, once I filed an appearance and served some discovery, the plaintiff was very quick to non-suit their case. A more thorough review of her debt portfolio revealed that the majority of my client’s total debt was held by debt buyers. My client ultimately elected not to file bankruptcy. She is now back in control of her monthly bills and very happy.

There are a number of factors to consider if you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy. Call me to find out more. Let me help you decide your best legal options for your situation.