Received a letter/call from Hunt & Henriques Lawfirm....did the clock just speed up?

[DirkDiggler]

Anyone else have any experience with these guys? A quick google search yielded some interesting tidbits about them trying for default judgements....does that mean they won't try to serve me? We are waiting until around December to file for the income to fall off since I quit my job at the end of July.

Should I respond to them? Since we stopped paying on CC's in late Feb, early March, I haven't answered or returned a phone call or answered a letter from anyone. How much time can I buy once I am served? Will ignoring thier calls and letters bring a lawsuit quicker?

[DirkDiggler]

Also, do they have to sue me in my home county? Or do they sue where they are?

[frogger]

The letter is the first step in the collections process. It might or might not mean anything, who knows....

And they will need to serve and sue you in your county.

[GIn]

It's been my experience that until the attorney letter is from a law firm in your own city, or within a couple of hours from the courthouse, the creditor is not serious about suing you.

[LadyInTheRed]

Anyone else have any experience with these guys? A quick google search yielded some interesting tidbits about them trying for default judgements....does that mean they won't try to serve me?

In order to get a default judgment, they have to serve you and you have to fail to file a response by the deadline, which in California is 30 days after service of the Summons.

[DirkDiggler]

Ok, so technically I have 30 days from Sept 9 to request DV....so they wouldn't serve me before then, right? Then I would have 30 days to respond to the summons (which I'll do) then hope to not have a court date scheduled for 30-60 days so I could technically last 90-120 days which would get me to December so I could file before a judgement would be entered.....am I on the right track? Or will it happen faster?

[IamOld]

Dirk, unless they're complete dirtbags, you're right. So it looks like you may be ok till the end of the year!

Ok, so technically I have 30 days from Sept 9 to request DV....so they wouldn't serve me before then, right? Then I would have 30 days to respond to the summons (which I'll do) then hope to not have a court date scheduled for 30-60 days so I could technically last 90-120 days which would get me to December so I could file before a judgement would be entered.....am I on the right track? Or will it happen faster?

[LadyInTheRed]

Ok, so technically I have 30 days from Sept 9 to request DV....so they wouldn't serve me before then, right? Then I would have 30 days to respond to the summons (which I'll do) then hope to not have a court date scheduled for 30-60 days so I could technically last 90-120 days which would get me to December so I could file before a judgement would be entered.....am I on the right track? Or will it happen faster?

It could happen a lot slower. Depending on your case and your court, after you file a response, the court may schedule a case management conference. A trial date would be set at or after the case management conference. For more info on the procedures go to http://www.courts.ca.gov/1066.htm and use the link bar to the left.

Also, the California courts are experiencing huge budget cuts resulting in layoffs, reduction in court hours and closures of courtrooms. The affect will vary by county, but it is expected that cases will take a longer.

[kornellred]

Why are you even worried about money judgments? Filing for bankruptcy shuts the whole affair down - forever.

[DirkDiggler]

Why are you even worried about money judgments? Filing for bankruptcy shuts the whole affair down - forever.

Well we need to wait until December or later to file so we can qualify for a Ch. 7.....

[vegaslaw]

Service requirements are state-by-state issues. Generally it has to be in person or (if you are dodging) by publication. I would be suprised, however, if service was limited to your county of residence. A local attorney could tell you for sure.