question?

[iupui1299]

I have filed ch. 7 about a month ago and just had my 341 meeting. I lived in a mobile home and paid lot rent for that home. When we filed we had the mobile park listed in the BK. I no longer live in the trailor or park. Today I got a letter from the parks lawyer saying they were going to sue in small claims court for the rent, lawyer fees and court costs. They had also sent us two letters asking for the money and even called once. My question is...can they do this? I didn't think they could contact you during the BK. I called my lawyer and he is going to call their lawyer and tell him to drop the suit. Any comments?

[lrprn]

I have filed ch. 7 about a month ago and just had my 341 meeting. I lived in a mobile home and paid lot rent for that home. When we filed we had the mobile park listed in the BK. I no longer live in the trailor or park. Today I got a letter from the parks lawyer saying they were going to sue in small claims court for the rent, lawyer fees and court costs. They had also sent us two letters asking for the money and even called once. My question is...can they do this? I didn't think they could contact you during the BK. I called my lawyer and he is going to call their lawyer and tell him to drop the suit. Any comments?

You are 100% correct, iupui - your former park and their lawyer are violating the automatic stay. They are probably hoping you will panic and pay up. Your lawyer should be able to take care of this for you.

If the park or the park's lawyer continue to contact you in any way, if it's on the phone, write down every instance with date, time and the person who called - record the call if that's permitted in your state. Also save every letter they may send along with the envelope it comes in for your lawyer. If the park persists contacting you, trustees and the bk courts take the automatic stay very, very seriously. If you and your lawyer would choose to pursue legal action against the park, it will cost them a pretty penny. Keep us posted on what happens, ok?

[danohio2831]

if it is a violation

goto radio shack, i bought a phone recorder i use with a small tape recorder to tape things like this

ps, check local laws about recording people without there consent, or tell them u are, see if there attitude changes

good luck

[iupui1299]

Thanks guys, The letter I got kinda freaked me out. Just seeing the words lawsuit was pretty scary...which was probably their intent. The end of the letter says "this communication is an attempt to collect a debt." Hopefully our lawyer can take care of this quickly. I will keep you updated.

[iupui1299]

Ok, today things just blew up in our face literally. I faxed a copy of the letter to my attorney. He says that we may be liable for some of the rent that occured after we filed BK. The letter we got says that the law firm had filed a suit against us for eviction. The letter also went on to say that they wanted their rent money plus court and attorney fees and would sue us in 30 days if it was not paid. Now, we had a few things left in the house. So we went to go get those things tonight. When we arrived there I noticed things missing from the yard and the grass had been cut. We went up to the door and the locks had been changed and all the things in the house that were ours had been removed. So now I don't know what to do. The lease agreement for that park says they can remove the whole home and place it in storage at my expense. I am so frustrated. The home should belong to the bank. We just need to get them to come claim it. I thought that since we just recieved the letter about the eviction that they couldnt remove anything until 30 days was up. Any thoughts?

[lrprn]

Ok, today things just blew up in our face literally. I faxed a copy of the letter to my attorney. He says that we may be liable for some of the rent that occured after we filed BK. The letter we got says that the law firm had filed a suit against us for eviction. The letter also went on to say that they wanted their rent money plus court and attorney fees and would sue us in 30 days if it was not paid. Now, we had a few things left in the house. So we went to go get those things tonight. When we arrived there I noticed things missing from the yard and the grass had been cut. We went up to the door and the locks had been changed and all the things in the house that were ours had been removed. So now I don't know what to do. The lease agreement for that park says they can remove the whole home and place it in storage at my expense. I am so frustrated. The home should belong to the bank. We just need to get them to come claim it. I thought that since we just recieved the letter about the eviction that they couldnt remove anything until 30 days was up. Any thoughts?

So sorry to hear about your new worries, iupui . Did your landlord win a judgment against you in court where you didn't appear, or are they just threatening court action now without having a current judgment against you? Why does your bk lawyer think you could owe some of the rent that occured AFTER filing??

This is becoming quite a complicated tangle. Have you considered having a half-hour consultation with a lawyer who specializes in property ownership and evictions? Bk lawyers know bk, but this is a different area of law.

Hang in there - keep us posted on what's happening. We want to help if we can.

[iupui1299]

Well, they summoned us to court to pay for the rent. Our lawyer said that any rent before the date we filed was exempt but after the date we would be held responsible. We talked with the parks lawyer today and they said that since we filed BK that they would go after the bank since the home belongs to them now. We'll see what happnens next.

[dscurlock]

lawsuit

Thanks guys, The letter I got kinda freaked me out. Just seeing the words lawsuit was pretty scary...which was probably their intent. The end of the letter says "this communication is an attempt to collect a debt." Hopefully our lawyer can take care of this quickly. I will keep you updated.

I guess my wife and i have been lucky, ive been hearing about lawsuits, money being garnished from checking, etc...my wife has bad debt 5+ years, so far they have stopped call her, my debt is fairly new 1-2 years, and im called constantly, luckily we have never gotten any notice to appear, and no garnishments as of yet, even though we have been threatned by them.
I have had people to my wifes mom, two different last names all together, at one time, they called her looking for my wife, at other times, they called her looking for me...it just goes to show, they can find you...