Summons

[howdidithappen]

Received a summons for Credit Card bill - non-payment. Response is due in one week - can I ask for more time at this point to find an attorney?

[BKTango]

No, but what you can do is answer the summons with a presumption of bankruptcy. Go down to the local court where you would have to go to file your answer and get the forms from the clerk. They should have them anyway. In your answer explain that you are in the process of seeking bankruptcy after locating legal counsel to help you. Not sure if this will work for you but that's what I was told to do by an attorney. Regardless of what you do, answer the summons. If you son't they get an automoatic judgement, then it's even more work for you to have it vacated following the bankruptcy. Good Luck.

[HHM]

Is this a small claims court summons, or a regular summons. If its a regular summons, you actually have some time. Even if you don't answer by the deadline, it will take them some time to get the judgment. (a couple weeks, more or less).

In any event, follow BKTango's advice, go to the court house and file a presumption of BK.

[howdidithappen]

Regular summons -t thank you both of you!!

[no_it_all]

I have some experience in this area. I was served a summons and responded with the ten day period. Your response is called your <answer>. I have no idea if you are in a BK proceeding now, or planning on one. That really isn't important. What is important is that you answer the summons with the time period indicated on the summons. Failure will most likely result in the Plaintiff prevailing. It will not take months or even weeks. Again, answer the summons ASAP. How do you do that? I would start by disputing the amount they say you owe. Dispute the principle, dispute the interest charges, dispute the date of last payment. File your answer with the clerk of the court and send a copy to the Plaintiff. That will give you about month or so breathing room.

You also have to show a <certificate of service> which basically means you have <served> the Plaintiff (similar to your service) showing the court that you have informed the Plaintiff of your answer and any affirmative defenses..Good luck and remember: Answer the Summons!!

[no_it_all]

STATE OF (Your state here)
DISTRICT COURT
District Ten
Division of Eastern York
Docket No.


TD Banknorth N.A. Plaintiff

v.

(your name here) Defendant

ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Defendant's Answer to Plaintiff's Complaint

1. Defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the statements in this paragraph.

2. Defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the
truth of the statements in this paragraph.

3. Defendant admits that he purchased a 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup, and otherwise is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the rest of the statements in this paragraph.

4. Defendant is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the statements in this paragraph.

5. Defendant admits to a payment in the amount of $599.84, and is otherwise without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the rest of the statement.

6. The Defendant admits that he failed to make payments, and is otherwise without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the rest of the statements.

7. Denied

Affirmative Defenses
FIRST AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
To the extent that the court lacks jurisdiction over the defendant it should be dismissed.

SECOND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
To the extent that Plaintiff demonstrated insufficiency of process the claims should be dismissed.

THIRD AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE
To the extent that Plaintiff demonstrated insufficiency in service of process the claims should be dismissed.

WHEREFORE, Defendant requests that Court dismiss in entirety the Plaintiff's claim and enter judgment in the Defendant's favor.

Dated: May 30th 2006 Respectfully submitted,

______________________________________

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a copy of this Answer and Affirmative Defenses has been delivered to the Plaintiff's Attorney: (name and address here)





Date: May 30, 2006

Make sure you use your court's format. This is the format my court wanted..Most courts use the same Civil Procedures, but you should check NOTE TO MODS: IF THERE IS TOO MUCH LEGAL ADVICE HERE..WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO

[howdidithappen]

see below

[howdidithappen]

Thanks for your help - I'd like to dispute the outrageous interest they charge you once you're late with a payment but that won't help.
Summons says four things:

defendant is indebted to plantiff on revolving charge account for $21K

defendant has defaulted - there is a balance due of $21K

demand for payment has been made but amount due has not been made

they also want attorney's fees and costs

Any suggestions??

[SinkingFast]

Swing by the Court House. Tell the Clerk you need to file a Response to a Summons. They'll either give you the appropriate Form, or give you a sample to copy where you insert your appropriate info.

As No_It_All noted, all you have to do is Dispute the amount of the Debt. You want to know how they got $21K??

It doesn't have to be an elaborate response. You just have to file it within the right amount of time. Just by filing your Response, you slow the Creditor down by making the Court timeline/process work for you.

If you don't file a Response or appear in Court on the date of the Hearing, the Creditor automatically wins by default. If you file a Response disputing the Debt, then the Creditor has to follow Court guidelines and Respond to you explaining how they came up with $21K. You can volley that back and forth a time or 2 and buy yourself a couple of months worth of time.

[howdidithappen]

Thank you all for your replies - saw an attorney today who was absolutely NO help. Spoke with him on the phone on Friday - explained my circumstances as well as the Summons, including the return date of 7/5/07. Told me he would help me with repsonse when I came in. Would not help me with response - just wanted me to retain him for BK.......

[BKTango]

Thank you all for your replies - saw an attorney today who was absolutely NO help. Spoke with him on the phone on Friday - explained my circumstances as well as the Summons, including the return date of 7/5/07. Told me he would help me with repsonse when I came in. Would not help me with response - just wanted me to retain him for BK.......

Well....technically if he was a bankruptcy attorney then he doesn't have to help you unless it pertains to your bk case after your retain him. Most will all give you a free consult on bk but they are not going to help you file an answer to your summons. For example, when I first met with our lawyer I had explained to him I was sitting on two summons that needed answering, he told me that when we file that would be taken care of, but if we were to wait, then we needed to make sure we answered the summons and make sure we do what needed to be done in regards to that. I made an appointment with him for the following week to retain him and make a down payment, he told me to be sure to bring the summons with me so he could take care of them, and he did. After he was retained by us. Maybe you can try legal aide in your area or call the court clerk and ask them who you could talk to.

[howdidithappen]

When I spoke with the attorney I told him of the pressing need for the response to the Summons, even gave him the dates. Granted it was last Friday and the repsonse has to be filed by Thursday (2 days from now). My appointment was not for BK - his ad lists he does more than BK. I certainly would have made more phone calls if I knew this was going to happen! I was also surprised to hear that if we filed now, July, my first payment to the trustee woulld be due August 1st. Does it really happen that fast?

[BKTango]

For a chapter 13 I believe it does, you immediately start paying, then when your plan is confirmed if the amount is higher or lower then your payment is adjusted. But yeah, you start paying like right after you file with the courts.

Hopefully you can find someone to help you, in the meantime file an answer with the presumption of bankruptcy before that deadline, do not give them a default judgement. The court should have the answer forms, then that should give you some time to locate another attorney.

[howdidithappen]

Any suggestions as to the wording I use? I really appreciate your help!

[lrprn]

I was also surprised to hear that if we filed now, July, my first payment to the trustee woulld be due August 1st. Does it really happen that fast?

The bk law requires that you must pay the trustee your first Ch 13 payment within 30 days of filing or your case will be dismissed.

Don't let one bad lawyer interview stop you - interview at least two more bk-specialty lawyers in your area to find a good fit. Having an excellent Ch 13 lawyer can help you get a monthly payment that's tolerable for the long haul and make your 3-5 years under the trustee's financial control much, much easier. It's well worth whatever time it takes to find him/her. Ask each one about the first payment due date too.