Court Summons

[Trilivonel]

I have been served with a court summons to appear in court regarding a credit card I had over five years ago. Since I recently just found out about your site, I didn't know that I could ask for debt validation from the collection agency. Is it too late to ask for validation? Can I ask for validation when I show up for the court date?

[Anonymous]

I to have just recieved a summons to appear in court over a credit card I'm not sure what to either hopefully someone can help us God luck

[admin]

Here is the advice:

http://www.creditinfocenter.com/cgi-local/cutecast/cutecast.pl?forum=4&thread=16


[Edit by admin on Monday, April 29, 2002 @ 02:44 PM]

[Anonymous]

To Trilivonel: You are going to have to respond to the complaint. If you have not paid the credit card for 5 years, you may be past the statute of limitations SOL. You can then respond with a demurrer (a motion to dismiss). Check this website for the SOL for your state. Good luck...

[Trilivonel]

Thanks, Pete for your reply. Actually the SOL in my state changed from 5 years to 6 years. I was planning on responding to the summons but I noticed some things on the summons that I'm not sure of . I don't believe it makes much of a difference but I have two summonses, one in English and one in Spanish. There isn't a index no. on the English summons but there is one on the Spanish summons. Also I noticed that the summons was alleging as of Nov. 7 I owe approx. $6000 but I don't know when I was filed. So I don't know if I was served within the 120 days after an index no. was given. Also, does the summons have to have the court seal or any proof from the county clerk's office proving that it was filed? :confused:

[admin]

Trilivonel - Are you asking whether or not you need proof you were served?

[Trilivonel]

Admin - I guess I'm just trying to figure out if the summons is valid. I will answer the summons regardless but I'm just confused as to why the the Spanish version of the summons has a index number and the English version does not have one. Also, is it true that a plantiff has 120 days after receiving an index no. to serve the respondent? I was served on April 16 and I guess the paperwork was done in early November.

[admin]

Hmmmm...that is beyond the scope of what I know....calawyer??

[Anonymous]

I suggest you go down to the local court and see if a complaint has been filed. Show the clerk of the court what you have and they should be able to trace it if it is legitimate. It's better to find out now before they get a default judgment against you

[calawyer]

The laws vary from state to state. Most likely, however, this is a non-issue. The complaint probably has a clerk's stamp on it and a case number corresponding with the number in the summons. The court's local rules (which are usually available on-line) will tell you the time limits for service and the penalties for non-compliance.

[Trilivonel]

Thanks for all of your help! I will answer the summons by tomorrow. P.S. Both summons (the first one served, taped to my front door and the second, sent in the mail almost two weeks later) do not have the County Clerk's court stamp on it. I thought that was strange but most definitely, I will answer it. Thanks again!

[calawyer]

Most courts have law libraries that are available to the public. Ask the librarian if they have an applicable publication by "Nolo Press". THese are self-help books written in plain english that will help you understand how to respond to the complaint.

[Trilivonel]

Thanks for everybody's help. I replied to the summons and it ended up that the collection agency didn't even file with the county clerk's office. It wasn't even in the court system! The C.C.'s office advised me to reply to it just in case, because the plantiff has 14 days after service to apply for an index number. So, I did just that. Is there any recourse I can take against this collection agency? At minimum, for the embarrassment of having a fake summons taped to my front door?