how do i win a court case where i'm being sued for a debt that's not even mine?
407065
Contact an attorney. Most lawyers will do a first time consultation free. Get there advise and then go to your divorce lawyer with this info so they don't drag there feet and charge you more. And see about making your ex pay the legal fees sense it's his bill.\n But a lot of time these people will go after the one there more than likely to get to pay. \n They have to send some form of proof or else they could just call any card holder up and say hey you owe da da da.\n And by all means save every piece of communication the more you have the better off you are.And if they take you to court show up. \n My son had a loan that had a 50.00 late fee tacked on after they gave him a paid off receipt. They came after me said I cosigned and he was out of state so they wanted me to pay.The day we went to court the lady told me they found the mistake I didn't cosign on the note and there was no balance.So I could go on home she would explain to the Judge. Wrong she didn't know that I had stayed and tried to tell the Judge nobody showed up. Well after I told my side and what she did. He said he could award her judgment. But he would advise me to file a wrongful suit and he would award me more than her court cost and the 50.00. So don't let them bully you into paying without prof.
574664
When you are being sued, the other party MUST serve you with a court summons.  The summons states the day and time you must appear in court.  This is called "Service of Process".\n\nOnce this has been done, the person who served you must file a statement with the court, called a "Proof of Process". This tells the court that you have been served, and that they can proceed with the trial.  If you are not served, they can NOT proceed.  You must be allowed to give your side of the story.  \n\nIf they prove you were served, and you do not appear, the judge will award a default judgement.  \n\nWhy am I going over all this?  \n\nBecause it has been discovered that several collection agencies are paying process servers to NOT serve processes, and to file false "proof of service" forms with the court.  That way, you don't even know you are being sued, and a judgement is automatically entered against you.\n\nContact the local court, and ask them to search for any court filings under your name.  If so, trot down to the court and examine the paperwork, especially the "proof of service" to see if it was served properly.  If not, you can get the case tossed out, and have possible legal action against them.\n\nContacting the court is the only sure way to find out if you have a judgement against you.
1147211
If you sue, they are going to argue in court that the time accrues.  They may even bring a more recent version of the handbook with them.  \n\nYou could try sending a demand letter stating that if you have not received all monies due and payable to you pursuant to handbook section #_____ by 00/00/06 you will file in small claims court.  If that does not work, I expect you will have a real fight on your hands.  Good luck.
1105227
I need more info before giving you any good advice.  \n\nIf someone got credit in your name, and you are claiming the debt is not yours, then there is a procedure already in place regarding ID Theft.  Go to the first link below and read up.\n\nYou first need to contact the local police department and get a report.  Then you will need to contact the creditors who are after you and inform them that the debt is not yours.  Send them a copy of the police report, plus a signed and notorized affidavid saying your ID was stolen and this is not your debt.\n\nIt's up to them to prove it's yours, not the other way around! \n\nNow, to clean up your credit, examine the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act.  These laws detail exactly what you must do.\n\nFollow these instructions carefully!\n\nSend a dispute letter to the Credit Reporting Agencies demanding that the listing be removed.\n\nSend a "demand to validate" letter to the creditor, and demand that they prove this is your debt.\n\nIf this does not solve the problem, you can sue them in small claims court.\n\nThis is exactly what happened to me.  Someone used my ID to get a Holleywood Video account and run up $300 in charges.  It went to collections agency and ended up on my credit report.\n\nI did the letter writing stuff, but they still wouldn't take the listing off.  So I went to small claims court.\n\nThe credit bureau settled for $200.  The collection agent decided to fight me, and it cost them $1000 plus court fees.  \n\nThe reason they get away with this stuff is because consumers don't understand the law!  \n\nContact me if you need more advice or support.
960089
They have to sue you first before they can "take" anything from you.  If they do sue and win, then it's up to the courts.  But any kind of threat or statement in saying what you are doing is illegal by not paying is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Read that act front to back.  It's dry reading but quite eye opening.
698939
Technically, yes they can sue you for not making the proper payment. If you are at least making payments, the chances of them actually suing you are slim to nil.They will however continue to contact you trying to get the full payment. What I would recommend is for you to contact an account rep, explain your situation and see what they can do to help. When you just send a lower payment in instead of the full amount, they will charge penalties and interest, but if you speak with them and make other arrangements, in most cases they can and will lower the interest and also remove the extra fees. As long as you are willing to make the payments, they are willing to help.
65862
The are a number ways, including filing a motion to set aside the default and a motion to quash service of the lawsuit.  You should consult an attorney right away because the court where the lawsuit was filed might not have jurisdiction over you.
1169423
You can sue, but, if you can prove your case, the most you can recover is $5000 because there is a specific law that limits the amount which you can recover if you do not have something in writing.\nIt is called the Statute of Frauds.
129920
Follow the Steps\n\n1.   Go to the court house and file the papers that are needed... they are not coming to mind right now but there will be an office that is strictly for this....\n\n2.  after you fill out the papers they will send you a copy via the mail or an officer and send the person you are sueing a copy of the form...\n\n3.  The form will have the time and date that the court will be.\n\n4.  Make sure you have all reciepts and checks for proof that this person owes you...the judge will ask the whole story..\n\n5.  If won the person will be order to pay you so much a month until the dept is paid off...\n\n\nHope that helps you out....
563097
Technically, it is possible to sue almost anyone, but that's not your question, really.  Your question is whether it is worth the filing fee; can you win?  And for that, you need to tell the details to a liability attorney and see if they are willing to take the case on contingency fee.  If you have a complaint but can't find a lawyer willing to gamble his time and expertise to winning it, then it's probably because none of the ones you spoke to think it has much chance of winning.\n\nOne thing is in order to win a liability case, you have to be able to prove damages.  What, exactly, did you lose?  You will need documentation, of course.\n\nSo go ahead and try.  Visit with several plaintiffs' attorneys and see if they will take you up on it.
126738
Like crythsania said....why are they threatening you?  What agreement did you have with the debt collector (and why are you messing with those fools anyway)?\n\nIf you have an agreement with them to pay an amount of money, they can't just change it.  Keep sending them the agreed amount of money, and let them sue you.  The judge will simply re-instate the conditions of that agreement.\n\nOn the other hand, if you are not paying what you agreed on, they can sue you.  Now you must gamble on whether the judge will order a payment plan you can afford, or risk garnishment/lien proceedings.  \n\nDon't know where you are at, bit in my area the judge would look at the debtor's financial situation and order something he can handle.  I've seen people get away with $5.00 a month.
86602
YOU CAN SUE FOR ANYTHING, BAR NONE! However, if you can show there is no good reason for their untrue and negative written statement about you they shared with another party, then you have good grounds for a liable suit. Further, if you can show you have suffered injury or damages as a result, then you have a very strong case. \n\nWARNING: The courts are secretly biased towards corporations and lawyers/barristers will only take you for your money. If you want to persue this I would do it myself or retain on a strict contingency basis only.
373308
Sue them. Some stranger who has no connection to you is harassing you and you don't know what to do? Stop being stupid. Get the name of the company, the caller, their address (if possible) and their phone number and Tell them the next time they call that if they call and harass you one more time you will contact a lawyer and begin court proceedings. They're bullying you and you're falling for it. They can't do a thing to you. You own them NOTHING so what can they do to you? Threaten to call a lawyer and the calls will stop PRONTO. Simple.\n\n--\nto hiseasy... what a dumb fcuking plan. Give them your home phone number. Great, now you're establishing a history of contact and initiating a dialogue that could cause a judge to question whether you have a real connection with the person their seeking. And your 300K claim sounds like bullshyt.\n\nNip this in the bud NOW. They have called you, personally, repeteadly, harrassed and threatened you. That's grounds for a lawsuit right there. You don't need to give them your home phone number to prove this. Only an idiot would do that. Give them personal info about you... real fcuking smart.\n\n--\nOk, sorry I called you stupid. But avoiding a lawsuit may not be possible. You're tried telling them not to call, right? did it work? didn't think so. You have to at least THREATEN to file a lawsuit. They're harassing you at work and you own them nothing. It's no different than some stranger off the street bothering you everyday while you go for coffee! C'mon, don't be ... silly. Talking nice to them and pleading with them to stop hasn't worked and is unnecessary. What if it never ends? You came here looking for answers. That's mine. And I'm not the only one who thinks that protecting yourself through the courts is the answers.
774251
CarCraze --- you are wrong, sorry to say\n\nWhat you have there, my dear, is a bona fide Court Order for you to appear in court to answer to a Motion to Collect a Debt. If it is on Court paper and has a case number, call the Court to confirm the Docket Number, and find out when the hearing date is.\n\n\nYES, they do have that power.\n\nYES, That is the equivalent of a Subpoena.\n\nIf you "just let it ride", as you say, don't be surprised when you open up your paycheck and you find a good chunk of it GONE !\n\nWhat you should do:\n\nSeek legal counsel (get a lawyer) and come up with a manageable payment plan that is both satisfactory to your creditor, and workable for you.\n\nDON'T HESITATE - you will regret it.
78120
Of course you could win the case in court.  The problem is collection after the judgement.  All you'll have is a legal judgement, the person can still stiff you and refuse to pay it.  I would require a form of collateral.  If your friend owns property, with a judgement you could put a lien on it so he/she couldn't sell it or even refi because the title isn't clean.  Get the letter notarized too, the notary would be another witness.  If you have any doubts, don't do it.
306835
From what it sounds like yeah you defenitely have a case. i think just threatening them that you'll go to court with it might work. if not try getting free lawyer advice.\nhttp://www.prepaidlegal.com/ check ut this site. It's cheap and my family uses their services. they've been quite good so far
808926
Send them a letter via mail return receipt requested stating that the money is not owed and the reason why. If you have a receipt showing that you already paid the debt.  Inform them if they do not cease harrasing you, you will (1) report them to the better business bureau and any other state agencies that deal with unscrulous debt collectors and (2) institute a claim under the fair debt collection practices act, and you will seek treble damages. Request they send you a letter stating that you do not owe them any money.