Received a Proof of Service/Case Management Statement

[HRoark0717]

Been working on my BK filing for Chapter 7 (filing pro per), with great help from this forum , and just received a Case Management Statement in the mail. It has to do with a summons I got served with months ago from Hunt & Henriques (Collection Agency), the attorney for Citibank.

With money being non-existent, I was on my own and read through a bunch of online info on how to answer the summons. Did that successfully along with waiving the court fees and then didn't think I would hear from these guys again but here I am...

So I checked online on the courthouse website to verify and there it was...the Case Management Conference scheduled for March 1, 2011 at 8:30am. On the form (Form# CM-110), it shows the "Description of Case" has the box checked as "complaint". It is a non-jury trial and estimated time of trial is 2 hours (short case)

I have no case to dispute the charges and plan to file BK Ch. 7 in February.

Questions:
1. Has anyone experienced going to a Case Management Conference held at the court??
2. Am I supposed to attend??
3. I am on track to file BK Ch. 7 before this conference date, How will filing before the scheduled date affect the Case Management Conference??
4. By filing BK Ch. 7 before the scheduled date, will I no longer be liable for the claims against me in this case??
5. Are there additional steps to take like contact the attorneys? contact the court where this case is scheduled at?

Any feedback or helpful info would be much appreciated. Thank you!!

[tcreegan]

Hi HRoark,

Questions:
1. Has anyone experienced going to a Case Management Conference held at the court?? ...yup, around here it is a conference w/ the lawyers for whoever is collecting the money. They try to get you to sign a paper "confessing the debt" or settle. These case management deals are usually to keep as much as possible off the court docket.

2. Am I supposed to attend?? ...usually, if you don't they will ask for a default judgment against you. Doesn't make a whole lot of difference if you are filing BK though. Especially if you are filing before the case management meeting.

3. I am on track to file BK Ch. 7 before this conference date, How will filing before the scheduled date affect the Case Management Conference?? ...it gets dismissed. Along w/ the lawsuit.

4. By filing BK Ch. 7 before the scheduled date, will I no longer be liable for the claims against me in this case?? ...yup, that is the beauty of the BK "fresh start" In fact, even if you file after the conference date, you still aren't liable.

5. Are there additional steps to take like contact the attorneys? contact the court where this case is scheduled at? ...yup, first of all, list the plaintiff in your list of creditors. A couple days after you file a "BK notice" should be on PACER or be available from the BK court clerk. It will have your BK case number and filing date. Send a copy of that to the attorneys in the lawsuit and to the court clerk where you were supposed to appear. Attach a copy of the paper(s) you rec'd, something w. your name and the case # (not BK, from the local court)

You are rolling along, keep it up!

Tom in Colo

[HRoark0717]

Thanks Tom! That's great information. No sure if I will be ready to file before this conference so your comment about filing after the conference date and still not liable in this suit is a huge relief.

Your help is very much appreciated