Chapter 13 Discharged ... But It's Still Not Over ...

[EndInSight]

Rules in your favor. How could it not?

Miss Posh

[FeelingHopeless]

Hey, everyone ... Our hearing begins at 1:30 today. Wish us luck ... I'm so nervous. I wish (as always) that it would be done today ... but we'll see how it goes. I'll be back on as soon as I get home to update you guys with the new information.

[genseeker]

Oh man, just found this thread tonight and I could not believe what I was reading. Make them regret stalling and causing delays. I would definitely up the amount I was willing to settle for after all the cr*p they pulled the past few weeks.

After reading this thread, it makes me want to go after someone myself and not back down. For me, it is a CA that received a proper fraud report for an acct and the CRA removed it. The CA changed the acct # and put it back on my credit report. I sent them a letter saying I did not recognize the acct and they actually sent me a letter admitting to changing the acct #, calling it a "clerical error". I included the fraudulent acct in my BK but now I feel they need to learn a lesson.

I am waiting anxiously for updates. I can't wait to tell hubby about this tomorrow. Get 'em

[JollyGG]

You are probably in court right now. Just letting you know that we are thinking about you and hoping for the best.

Can't wait to hear the results.

[paula61]

Chapter 13 Discharged...But It's Still Not Over...

FH:
I have been following your thread since the beginning and for all it is worth, I am giving you my 2 cents also. My husband and I have had similar fights like this in the past. As a matter of fact, it seems our whole life has been one big fight to survive. We are currently in a Chapter 13 because of having to help both our kids over the last few years that left us without any funds for retirement or a way to pay all our bills. We have had our share of nasty creditors but this CU far outshines some of the nasty ones we have known. I know it is disheartening and that you just want it to be over, but don't give up the fight. If not for yourself, but for the other people who might be in the same situation with this CU in the future, these guys need to be taught a lesson. They think they are above the law and they outright smirk at anyone who tries to tell them they are not, including the judge. They have probably pulled this tactic many times and gotten away with it. I agree with everyone else in this forum that you need to go back to court and they need to get slapped with a hefty fine and pay you for mental anguish. Even if getting more for what you have been through is not an option, at least get them back into court and have them fined for contempt. You will then have the satisfaction that you might have saved some future person from going through what you have.
Paula 61

[jas]

FH,

First I wish you the best of luck, We (my wife and I) Went through a lawsuit much like this. Please know this, Every delay, There responses, The low ball offer, The cavalier attitude all of this is absolutely calculated and well planed. It is there defense and there only defense so they will not stop this mental gamesmanship until they no longer have control to do so.

They have only one way out of this situation and that is to make you run from the process by wearing you down. They know exactly the emotions there tactics are making you have and fully understand how they will impact your decisions to line up with there best intrest. We saw this tactic played over and over for 6 years while fighting with over 8 defense lawyers. It appears this is civil suite defense 101 for a loosing case. It is a shame that other lawyers do not inform there clients of this tactic, I think there ashamed of it but know if they were on the defense of a loosing case they may have to play the same game. Court is scary to think about but not bad once your there and worth doing for future peace of mind.

In our case once I caught on to this tactic it made us fight harder and we would not back down from our court date, It was the right thing to do even though I am here at this site because of the suit, We won our case but the debt was not covered after fees. This was a matter of those responsible not having enough assets to cover the total cost of there damages to us, But either way win or not we would have ended up here, At least we got justice! and sent all those lawyers away with maybe a slightly different opion about using sleazy tactics and made sure the defedents would not repeat there wrongs

Ignore the clutter and make the decisions based on what is right for you and yours, Time should not be a factor for you as you are somewhat whole again (Van Back) keep it on your side and use it against them. They have an unwinnable lawsuit hanging over there head, They would like it to go away much faster than you do. Never forget that. And it is much harder to go in to court and testify and try to explain away the wrong you have done to someone! Focus on going to court if it turns out you don't have to well that is a plus. But convince yourselves that is what it is going to take and make up your minds to do so. That will defray there tactics especially if they hear that your bound and determined to get them in to court because of the way they treated you after you field suit. This will probably put an end to the BS from there side if they have any brains at all.

One way to send this message, Consider raising your demands by a very large amount. This will get your point across!

[Boscoe]

FH - At the end of the day, the judge is here to ensure that justice is served, and that does not happen if this gets dismissed. If anything (and I doubt this will happen), your attorney will get admonished. Worse thing for you would be that you would need to claim 'poor representation' and have another attorney take over. But in no way should you have to take the hit for any possible procedural mistakes made by your attorney. You are, after all, relying totally on his expertise here.

But, let's be clear - the CU will be paying, and paying ALOT. The judge is going to be in a foul mood and that will only be directed your way for the first 2 minutes. Then.......gee I wish I could be there. This is going to be fun to read about.

Best of luck and enjoy your turkey. But I believe you will be enjoying your Christmas alot more............

[car67]

Wow you would think the credit union would just settle rather then keep the clock churning with attorney fees... If I was the president of the bank I would fire the attorney for draggin this and give a settlement and move on with business........

I would think the plaintiffs lawyer would lick his chops to take this to a trial by jury for treble damages........

[rrockinggramma]

FH, at least your attorney didn't dismiss the entire thing, but ask for the continuance. I know the judge will rule on that on Nov 27but this is the same judge that encouraged the cu to settle and they haven't really done that. All their bs is designed to make you get frustrated and go away. It is part of their strategy. Stay strong!! and I would not be too hard on your attorney. LOLOL From your posts, he sounds like a wonderful guy that really was caught off guard by the tactics of this cu. He will be more wary next time. Like you overheard him say, this is the first time since the new BK law went into effect that he has had this happen. So hang in there. Am waiting on pins and needles til the 28th when you post (or the 27th) GL

[FeelingHopeless]

Thanks, everyone ... I'm disheartened about the whole thing. This was so important to me ... and I suppose I feel like my attorney dropped the ball by not filing a continuation earlier. I see both sides of the story ... my people feel as though we were justified since both parties had already agreed on a settlement ... and their attorney had been dragging their feet for 3 weeks on getting the paperwork together and such ... but I see the judge's point ... it would've helped if someone was THERE that morning. I mean, she's upset that NEITHER side was there ... but that doesn't make the situation any better.

In any case ... Novemer 27th ... 1:30 ... we're back in court. And we WILL let the judge know how completely difficult and impossible they've been to work with. My attorney called yesterday and said they're sending over all the paperwork that shows that we'd agreed on the settlement weeks before ... but they were being unprofessional and dragging their feet.

I guess we'll see where it all goes from here ...

[millerc507]

Wow!

I have read through your posts and wish you the best. Quite an interesting story. It's a shame you have to fight so hard for things now. Good luck!

[HeatherB]

I cannot say how the judge will view all of this. However, if the judge allows the case to be re-opened and finds out that the reason it was to be continued was because the CU keeps dragging their feet, you will look favorable to the judge.

Waiting and not knowing is the WORST part of it. Hang in there. Your day will come and I honestly feel that you will come out ahead.

[Boscoe]

FH - C'mon, this is not reasonable for the judge to hold this against you. As frustrating as it is now, all good things come to those who are patient. You must believe this.

Everything you and your attorney has done is in good faith. You negotiated in good faith and were promised the check and that the settlement would be signed. When it came apparent that you were not going to get this, a continuance was filed. It is not like you just simply did not show up for court.

Also, the CU attorney did not show up either, so they have to take the wrath of the court as well. I really don't consider this a "gaffe". Last minute out of court settlements happen every day. If anything, your attorney was clearing space on the court docket by filing his motion.

In the interests of justice, they have to let you refile this. Everything in bad faith happened due to the CU's despictable behavior. And as the saying goes "you will have your day in court".

Christmas is coming - will be a good holiday season for you......

[kcsmom76]

I'm so sorry. The judge should hear the case again. I know it is hard, but hang in there.

Can you try and concentrate on the holidays, instead of the case for awhile?? I think that would be best for you. Here are some more (((hugs)))

[FeelingHopeless]

Well, I was joking earlier about having this done by Christmas ... but in retrospect, that might be closer to the truth than we thought.

First off ... things have gotten bad. Back on November 7th, our attorney filed a motion to continue. He filed it on the morning of our court hearing stating the reason was due to our settlement negotiations. We apparently should've filed it days earlier.

The bankrupcy judge has sent back an order denying the motion to continue ... saying that both attorneys should've been there that morning regardless of the motion to continue ... not being there made it seem as though we assumed she would allow the continuation ... therefore, not being there was disrespectful to the court. Therefore, she's marked our paper as "denied due to failure to prosecute."

And ... obviously ... the credit union is now refusing to sign the settlement papers that were already drawn up before the statement from the judge arrived ... because, why would they?

So, today our attorneys filed a motion to re-open the sanction ... based on the fact that we ACCEPTED their settlement offer three weeks before the court date ... and they were dragging their feet literally hours before ... and for days after the actual court date.

We now have a new hearing date ... it's November 27th ... so ... once again, mark your calendars. If she let's us re-open it and hears our testimony, we're still alright. If not ... well ... you know where that leaves us.

Timothy says that the bankrupcy judge will not hold this against us ... because their filing a motion on the court date does not change the facts of the case. It still happened and still needs to be dealt with. He says that they'll just have to go in and apologize to the judge and explain why the motion was so late ... and that we were trying our best to work with them until the final minutes. I'm no lawyer, but I think the point is that it was fine to file a continuation ... but my attorney should've shown up anyway.

I'm frustrated and angry ... I'm sad ... my god, there's no emotion I haven't felt this afternoon ... except happiness, of course. So ... reset your calendars ... and we'll see where we go from here. I can't blame the credit union for this gaff ... ugh.