Received letter from local BK lawyer informing me that I'm being sued.

[jange]

I am in PA and also got several letters like that before I got the actual paperwork in the mail. I was already in the process of filing and let my lawyer know.

Derp you will get the paperwork shortly.

[frogger]

Obviously, if this is true, I won't use a lawyer who reaches out with this sort of tactic

You reckon he chases ambulances as well?

[despritfreya]

Chances are you have been sued. Law suits are public record just like the filing of a bk or a foreclosure notice. Attnys looking to solicit business do utilize services that gather such info - and, no, it typically is not a violation of anything to send out such "junk mail". Walker740's approach is a good one. If case information is not available on the court's web site, call the Clerk of the Court. He/she can usually check by running your name. You can also go to the courthouse and view records. The problem is, you do not know which court to go to. Try the following links for possible info (the 1st one is "official" the others are not):

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets.aspx

http://www.publicrecordsinfo.com/court_records/pennsylvania_court_records.htm

http://www.courtreference.com/Pennsylvania-Courts.htm

Des.

[derp]

What would I have to look up on my county's court website? I browsed around and couldn't find anything.

I honestly don't remember seeing anything from Stellar Recovery before. I hope it's just an advertisement. The rest of the letter reads like one.

[walker740]

I got a letter just like this shortly before we filed. I went to my county's court website and sure enough, it was true! Some lawyers scour court records looking for clients. I was served a week later. Luckily we were already in the process of filing, and that stopped the lawsuit. I'm not saying you are being sued, but it is possible!

[spidge]

I wonder if that attorney stepped over any rules or laws? Would the Bar Association frown on such behavior?

At any rate, it sounds like a simple form letter/advertisement.

[Peeps]

Sounds like a scare tactic. If you're really being sued, you'll find out about it when you're served court documents... not by someone claiming (rightfully or not) to be a lawyer who wants to help you.

[derp]

First of all, I retained a lawyer two years ago, and stopped making credit card payments (eight credit cards, $20,000 debt at the time, five actual creditors in total), on his advice, at the same time. I never went through and filed, as I couldn't afford it back then. When I started a new, better paying job, I decided to hang back and see if I ever got sued before filing. Is this the time?

First of all, I never entered into any agreements with any collection agencies. I stopped answering the phone 21 months ago, and eventually changed my number. The letters and settlement offers slowed to a trickle, but I still get one every once in a while. I usually take a quick glance and throw them out.

Then today I got a letter from a local lawyer telling me that I'm being sued, apparently by Stellar Recovery. All it contains is a vague line that there was a filing at the "Court House", that "one or more" of my creditors has "filed suit" against me. At the top is says re: Stellar Recovery v (my name). Then it goes on about not being ashamed to file, yadda yadda.

Obviously, if this is true, I won't use a lawyer who reaches out with this sort of tactic, but I'm a little worried. He seems to be a legit lawyer though. Shouldn't I have been served if I was being sued? I don't know if I ever even got anything in the mail from Stellar Recovery, but my girlfriend says the name sounds familiar.

I would have otherwise been prepared for this, but my company is putting someone from my job on a ten week furlough, starting the first week of July, and I have the lowest seniority, so....