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I also posted an update on another thread but wanted to share my experiences here. I few months ago I successfully defended myself against Portfolio Recovery so when Midland popped up to sue me I thought, "ok, I can do this again."So . . . .
I had my day in court today and it didn't go as planned. Maybe I was a little cocky after my win over PRA or the judge (same one, btw) seemed less sympathetic, I don't know. So the lawyer for Midland had a stack of statements and he handed me one after the other and had me read out what was owed, minimum payment, what was paid etc. The judge got impatient (as did I) after a few and had him skip to the end. The last payment was 10/17/10. Since we're in Alabama I said that I believed that meant that DOFD would either have been 10/17 or 11/17, but either way it was past the 3 SOL. The judge said SOL was 6 years and I apologized and said I had thought it was 3. The lawyer for Midland cited something and said the judge was correct - it was 6 years. I said I had thought it was 3 for revolving and 6 for open and the judge said 6 for all contract accounts. I accepted that and then said that I didn't have a contract with Midland and that they needed to prove ownership. The judge said Midland had the right to buy debt. I said that I understood that, but that I also had no contract with Midland so they couldn't sue me for breach of contract and I had seen nothing showing what they paid for the debt or chain of assignment. The judge told the lawyer for Midland to get that stuff to him so he could make a decision.
I basically didn't even get to argue "contract not proven," "assignment not proven," "damages not proven," or any of the stuff I argued against PRA. The judge basically cut me off and said, "so you're saying if anyone sued you it should have been Chase not Midland," and I said yes, that was what I thought. The lawyer for Midland did show me some documents in the chat we had minutes before we went before the judge that he called "assignment" docs. They looked to me as though they basically were for a bunch of debts and mine was not stated separately. They also didn't seem to me to prove sale from Chase and assignment to Midland as there were a bunch of "middlemen" and, as I said, nothing that gave a sale price or separated out my account. He did not give these to the judge.
I do NOT have a good feeling about this one! I don't know how the judge could look at this as a contract agreement and therefore with a 6 year SOL, but he did. I suppose it could go either way, but with him not allowing the SOL argument and then telling me Midland could buy debt if it wanted I just don't know. Sure, they can buy it, but they can't sue without proving ownership!!
If I lose, this will be a judgment of close to $4k. Against PRA, I had the notification of finding in my favor within 3 days. This might be a bit longer. Feeling so disheartened by the whole thing right now. I'll update when the judge sends his decision.
I hope this turns out in your favor....Midland blows!! AND 3 days seems like a while to wait for this outcome..Why couldn't he give a decision right away?
It may be too late but you may find this interesting: http://www.govcollect.org/files/Alabama_Collection_Law.pdf
There is always the Court of Appeals also.
Crossing my fingers for you.
UPDATE:
"After trial held on January 28, 2014, this matter was taken under advisement and further case references were reviewed. Judgment is entered in favor of the Plaintiff in the amount of XXX, plus the cost of court."
So unless I want to appeal, that's all folks.
Never mind they were past the SOL and couldn't prove chain OR damages. What gets me is this is the same judge who found in MY favor when PRA sued me. These guys had more in the way of statements from the OC, but nothing else to prove chain or how much they paid for the debt.
I suppose I can always ask them to request a vacation of the judgment when I pay, but given this is Midland, what are the chances.
SO pissed. Mostly at myself. I should have settled before trial I guess. Now I'll have another judgment on my CR, which will tank my score and I was starting to think about looking for a mortgage and with another judgment that'll be on hold for at least a year unless it gets vacated.
So sorry to hear that. Hang in there. I have been waiting over 10 years to have a chance to fix my credit and I know how it feels. My BK will disappear in August.
If you feel that the evidence was either clearly misinterpred by the judge, or that his ruling was clearly contrary to law, then file an appeal.
The judgment is not final until the period for appeal has expired.
Trial court is not the end of your rights.
Thanks Robert. I'm very tempted to appeal for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that the judge basically looked at me like I was crazy when I said SOL was three years. Now, after doing some more reading I do see that the argument has been made that receiving and paying a CC bill, especially on an ongoing basis, is apparently enough to establish a contract. I actually disagree with this, but this is clearly what the judge and attorney believe. Now, the attorney had 14 days to get evidence and case precedent to the judge, which I guess he got because the judgment states that "further case references were reviewed." I believe this also pertained to whether or not Midland could sue me even though I never had a contract with them.
I really think my biggest problem was in admitting that I had "probably" received the bills and had "probably" paid them, because I think this was what opened the door to establishing "contract." They had bills sent to the three different addresses in the three different states I've lived in since opening that TL so it seemed a bit futile to argue otherwise. In the case PRA brought against me, they only had a final statement and I said that I couldn't speak to whether or not what they had was mine and what they were claiming was true.
I haven't decided what to do yet. I already owe $630 in court fees in addition to the judgment. I need to find out what an appeal would cost me. If it's an extra couple hundred bucks I might go for it but if its another $600+, I don't know. I also don't know if I should try to go it alone on an appeal, but don't really have the funds to pay an attorney. I'm assuming an appeal would be in front of a different judge.
So my options are:
1. To pay and ask Midland to vacate the judgment as part of agreement to pay in full. I *really* don't want to give those scumbags ANY money and I do feel as though I got the short end of the stick here and that the judge didn't let me speak. I'm not typically one to back down from a fight, but it might save my sanity. If I can find a way to take care of this and not have the judgment hit my CR, that's the biggest thing.
2. Appeal: this could be drawnout and I really just want it to be over. Then again, I don't want to see my credit score tank when I've been working so hard to clean everything up. I just about have the money to pay the judgment and fees (it comes to about $4200), but that's all my savings.
Next steps:
1. Visit the clerk's office and find out how much an appeal would cost and get the papers necessary to file in case I choose to.
2. Try to get a free consultation with an attorney.
3. Spend some time on Lexis/Nexis and try to find cases I can use.Luckily for me, I'm an academic so actually enjoy research and have access to the databases to do so.
If anyone had ever appealed a judgment (and not one that was a default judgment) I'd love to hear from you.
ADDENDUM!
I just saw something interesting.
So the "ORDER" says I have to pay $3511.98 plus cost of court.
Then there's another page that says "Notice of Judgement" (basically looks like a bill) and it has costs on it. It reads:
Cost of Judgement: $351.98
Cost of Court: $277.68
Total $629.66
At first, I assumed the $629.66 was the cost of court, but I think it's a typo! It should be cost of judgement $3511.98 + cost of court $277.98 total = 3789.96.
But since this page is the "bill" what if I only pay the $629.66? Think I can get away with it?? Do I pay this to the court - at the bottom it says no personal checks. So presumably I pay the court and they pay the plaintiff?
How do I know which one is the typo? Maybe the judge only meant to award Midland 10% plus cost of court?? Of course, that would be $351.19, not $351.98 but how am I suppose to know??