I Have Been Sued. What Do I Do Now?
Here Are Seven Common Defenses In A Lawsuit.
Receiving lawsuit papers can be your worst nightmare. Your mind starts racing for options. You aren’t sure how much time you have or how fast you need to act. The entire process feels chaotic.
When you look at the lawsuit, you will understand what you are being sued for. So, for instance, if it is a lawsuit against you for unpaid debt, it means you either borrowed money or agreed to pay for something but ultimately could not. What next?
When you are sued for a debt, you do have defenses to safeguard your interests. You typically get 30 days to file your response, and this period begins the day you are served with the lawsuit. Keep reading to know more on this.
Lawsuit Defenses
The threat of litigation can be a stressful experience. But you must stay calm and resist the urge to handle case specifics yourself unless you are equipped to do so. If the case involves more than a few hundred dollars in small claims court, you must seek legal representation.
A seasoned Los Angeles attorney can help you approach your lawsuit diligently. Here are some common lawsuit defenses that an attorney may resort to while responding to a complaint:
1: Identity Theft or Mistaken Identity
The threat of litigation can be a stressful experience. But you must stay calm and resist the urge to handle case specifics yourself unless you are equipped to do so. If the case involves more than a few hundred dollars in small claims court, you must seek legal representation.
A seasoned Los Angeles attorney can help you approach your lawsuit diligently. Here are some common lawsuit defenses that an attorney may resort to while responding to a complaint:
2: Statute of Limitations
The creditor has a specific period by which they must sue you or lose the right to seek a judgment against you. It is known as the Statute of Limitations. Every state in the country has a different period specified. But in California, it is a 4-year period from the date of last payment on the debt or previous use of the account.
When you are sued, you have to file an answer with the court showing that the statute of limitations had run before the date you were sued. It is not the date you were served with the lawsuit but the date the creditor filed the case with the court.
3: Authorized User Only
Often a family member or friend lets you use a credit card. You are not signing your name on the account, but you are an authorized card user. You will have to defend yourself by asking the creditor to prove that you signed for this debt.
It is usually as easy as showing that you do not have your social security number listed on the account. Your name and address show up because the friend or family authorized you to use the card, but you did not accept responsibility for the debt.
4: Improper Notice
Generally, the person sued by the creditor is not the original or primary account holder. Another person, known as a “cosigner,” signs on loan with you to allow you to get the loan. The cosigner is 100% responsible for the debt, but there are cosigner protections that the creditor must follow before suing you.
One of those protections is “proper notice” by the creditor that the primary account holder is not making the payments. The collection agency often sues the cosigner but fails to properly notify them of their obligation to pay the debt. This defense does not necessarily wipe out the debt, but it does mean that you will be re-served with the lawsuit before the creditor can get a judgment.
5: Improper Service of the Lawsuit
The creditor might state that they did properly give you notice of the lawsuit. But in actuality, they did not. If you can show that they did not properly serve you with a notice, the case can be dismissed.
6: Proof of Payment History
The creditor must show proof of your payment history on loan. Sometimes the original creditor sells the debt to a collection agency without proper paperwork about what you owe and when it reached the lawsuit balance.
So, you can request a payment history to confirm the borrowed debt amount and all other payments you made. A judge is not likely to agree with a creditor if the creditor cannot show the payment history, which can have the case dismissed.
7: The Creditor Can’t Prove That The Debt Is Valid
It can be as simple as showing your signature or a document that you verbally agreed to the accounts. The original creditor from whom you borrowed likely would have this information handy. But a collection agency that has purchased the debt may not have proper documentation.
Your defense is requesting that the collection agency proves they have the legal right to collect the debt. If they do not, your case can be dismissed.
Getting Help
If you need more information on what to do after being sued, please get in touch with the Westgate Law Bankruptcy and Debt Counseling services and schedule a free consultation. You will find us right at your service.