Judgment - lawyer tactic

[catwhisperer]

Hello,
We're the ones being sued by a bank for a trailer that was repossessed and the bank is suing us for the balance due. Well, we just got a letter from the attorney that they want the judge to decide without THEM being present, by just filing briefs. Well that takes the cake! If we don't show up, it gets decided in their favor but if they just don't want to show up, it's still too bad for us.
Anyone ever experience this. I think they just don't want to take the time to show up, it isn't a short trip for them and they know we are broke and going to file for bankruptcy if they come after us. I know - FILE - but this attorney we talked to is the one that said why file if we have no assets and are "judgement proof". I just need to get the book and file pro se, just can't see paying an attorney for something I think I can do myself

[aa06a47]

Hello,
We're the ones being sued by a bank for a trailer that was repossessed and the bank is suing us for the balance due. Well, we just got a letter from the attorney that they want the judge to decide without THEM being present, by just filing briefs. Well that takes the cake! If we don't show up, it gets decided in their favor but if they just don't want to show up, it's still too bad for us.
Anyone ever experience this. I think they just don't want to take the time to show up, it isn't a short trip for them and they know we are broke and going to file for bankruptcy if they come after us. I know - FILE - but this attorney we talked to is the one that said why file if we have no assets and are "judgement proof". I just need to get the book and file pro se, just can't see paying an attorney for something I think I can do myself

How much is the bank sueing you for?

[catwhisperer]

$6000 - I'll bet you anything the bank has paid this much to the lawyer already - the BK lawyer that called the bank lawyer wondered if she is getting paid for the collections she makes or by the hour. If by the hour, I think she is wasting the bank's money.

[SinkingFast]

But if the Bank wins their claim against you, their costs to sue will be tacked onto your bill.

[no_it_all]

They probably figured that since they loaned you the money in good faith, and you promised to pay it back and you didn't, that maybe they should make you drive to the court house. Just a thought.

[catwhisperer]

But if the Bank wins their claim against you, their costs to sue will be tacked onto your bill.

But that's the point if they know they can't get the original amount and just adding to it makes it worse, aren't they disservicing their customer - the bank. This is the attorney for the bank contacting us, I'll bet the bank doesn't know that we have no resources to pay this.

[poorme]

How cantankerous a person are you? If it were me, I would INSIST on being present just to show them (the other side) that I intend to know what's going on. I have never heard of a judge/court that didn't PREFER for the defendant to be present...sounds to me like somebody's blowin' smoke up your wazoo.

[catwhisperer]

Well, I'm actually not that cantankerous but doggone it how come the defendant has to show up or lose the case and the prosecutor doesn't (I know it isn't prosecutor but I couldn't think of the word).
We can't pay this $6000 and we are in PA where they can't attach our wages but could seize our bank account. Right now I think they would get about $30. We never agreed with the amount due nor what they got at the auction for the trailer. If they said we'll take $500, we'd scare it up somehow just to get them off our backs and avoid the judgment.

[SinkingFast]

Plaintiff, Cat. That's the word you were looking for.

I hear ya about the law firm representing the bank.

My brother just went thru the same thing with a car loan and a repo. He had to let the car go back because his wife has been in the hospital for months now. Couldn't make the payments.

Bro paid what he could on the deficit balance from the sale, but it wasn't good enough for the Bank. He also explained that he was on SSI Disability and why he couldn't afford to pay them more. The Bank hired an attny and sued to get a Bank Acct Garnishment. Which they won. And wiped out Bro's bank acct and then some.

Turns out, in KY, earnings obtained as a result of age or disability are exempt from garnishment. In this case, the joke will be on the Auto Loan Lender. Bro saw an attny and is suing the auto loan Lender for violation of Fair Credit and Collections Practices.

Instead of him paying them, they are gonna be paying him, AND they'll have pay their attny AND write off the deficit balance as well.

[no_it_all]

<snip>We can't pay this $6000 and we are in PA where they can't attach our wages but could seize our bank account.
Right now I think they would get about $30.

The judgement could possibly run for many, many years. Right now they could get $30.00 but what about four or ten or twenty years from now?

If they said we'll take $500, we'd scare it up somehow just to get them off our backs and avoid the judgment.

Avoiding the judgement would be an excellent idea. Maybe the creditor will bite on the $500.00, it is worth a try...

[poorme]

Cat,

I'm not sure the judge will just let them file a brief and not show up. Sounds to me as if they're up to trickery trying to get YOU not to show. Generally speaking, when the plaintiff (or their representative) doesn't show up the case gets dismissed or continued. Protect your rights - be there!

[aa06a47]

Cat, this can work to your advantage. They will only be represented by there briefs....all you will have to do is provide proof that there brief is not accurate to the specifics of your account and get the judgement thrown out. Will you have access to there briefs before hand? I don't know.

The amount is very small (6K to them anyway), and your correct in that they are spending more money fighting it than they can hope to recover. That is probably why they are not spending the money to send a lawyer to the court house.

[aa06a47]

If you have a case no, look in pacer (not sure if you can see pacer for civil cases but worth a try) and see if the brief they have filed has been submitted.

[Rover]

I suspect that the bank isn't directly paying the lawyer anything.

The bank has already written the debt off.

You're dealing with a collections lawyer to whom the bank turned over the debt. If the lawyer doesn't collect, the bank doesn't pay anything. If the lawyer collects, he gets a fat hunk of what you pay and the bank gets the rest.

The bank has nothing to lose at this point, and therefore, it has no incentive to negotiate with you.

[SinkingFast]

If you have a case no, look in pacer (not sure if you can see pacer for civil cases but worth a try) and see if the brief they have filed has been submitted.

I tried looking up Bro's case thru PACER. I got a link that took me to his Court in KY. There were civil proceedings available there, but they weren't recent cases.

I guess local Civil isn't real time like BK and other Federal Courts.