Received court summons

[wohj1977]

What is the name of your state? georgia


what do i do next?
i recieved a court summons from sherman acquisition (they are representing providian financial) to let me know that iam being sued for 1,895.61 (this includes interest)on a cc. the acct. is several years old (not sure of the exact date yet). i was served these papers on jan. 7, '04 i have 30 days to reply, but i haven't yet because i dont know what to say or do. the name of the law firm that sent it is ross gelfand andrew roy buckwit (if thats familiar to anyone)I do owe the money and i want to get it resolved, but i m not sure what to do next. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[pucker]

I had this happen to me with a c.c. I contacted them and they actually offered me a settlement over the phone. I paid that and then I didn't have to go to court.

 

[Csthreatt]

summons

Man, oh man do I remember asking the same question in this forum about 9mos ago. Yes, I was in your same shoes then and everyone that responded said that i must respond to the summons. I spoke with a lawyer and well, they were right. I'm sure there are free workshops in your area too. There, a lawyer answered my questions, give me most of the paper work I needed for free and helped me fill it out too. Next, I went down to the court building in my area, filled out the paper work and filed the answer. However, I waited until the last minute, approx. 2hrs til the deadline. Just so happens the lawyer thought I didnt file a response and he in turn filed some time of paperwork with the judge. But, the judge blocked it. Believe me, they want you not to answer. After my answer was filed there was a court date. In court the judge gave a trial date( I was scared to death) and this is where I am now. It's a mess!!! But being in court was not as bad as I thought it was. I'm sure someone that is familiar with this process will answer and give you some good advice.

And sure, you could probably avoid this is you just pay them. It's all they really want anyway.

Good Luck & God Bless

 

[wohj1977]

Thanks.
another question? does the thirty days to respond include weekends or is it just business days? They served me on Jan. 7, 2004

 

[hexeliebe]

30 days means 30 days.

So Feb 6 is looming.

 

[HomeGuru]

hexy, please explain for the writer the difference between calendar days and business days. And which one the court follows. Thanks.

 

[hexeliebe]

Geeez, o.k.

The Court system uses days in the following manner:

30 days to respond if the summons was received on Jan.7, 2004 is computed as follows:

Jan 8 = 1 day
Therefore Jan 31 would be (31 - 7 = 24)

Now, Feb. rolls around and since you have already 24 days, you add 6 to that number (Feb. 6) which would end on midnight, on the 30th day. In this case, Feb. 6 at midnight.

Business days vary but can be computed from Monday to Friday minus Federal Holidays so 30 business Days COULD result in more than 45 calendar days.

Unless you live in Germany in which case 30 days would more likely end up being 55 days (damn German holidays and vacations).

Or, if you work like I do, then 30 business days would mean about 12 years since I only work, really honest work, about once a month or so

 

[HomeGuru]

Thanks hexy, now the writer is even more confused.

 

[hexeliebe]

Then I have succeeded in my quest for the day.

I can finally rest

 

[Ladynred]

Here are some sources for how to Answer the Complaint:

http://www.legalhelp.org/answering_complaint.htm

http://www.legalhelp.org/affirmative_diffense.htm

http://www.nwjustice.org/docs/205.html - is WA law, but the format and other info is very good. If statutes are needed, look up statutes for your state.

 

[wohj1977]

Hello again,

last week i posted a couple of questions about recieving a court summons and answering it. Well i filed my answer on the morning of the deadline which was Feb. 6. The very next day the attorney/collection agency called me to offer a settlement out of court. She said my balance is 2,280.00 and the settlement was for 2,000.00

what do yall think? Is that a good settlement offer?

 

[bigun]

It's only 10% of the aamount owed. Do you have a defense like the SOL has run? Did you demand validation?
If you want to settle, offer a 50% settlement and see if they'll come off some more.

 

[wohj1977]

Thanks Bigun (and everyone else for your suggestions and input). Unfortunately, I can't use the SOL defense becuase i stop making payments in August of 2001. Im going to try and see if they'll come down a little more.