Am I really being sued?

[Anonymous]

Hey all, 

I know the answer to this is to go the courthouse to check....but I am working out of state right now and cannot get down to check. 

I lost my job in 2015 and had some issues, including a Discover Credit card that I owed around $5000. I received a summons last year stating that I was being sued by Stephen Bruce & Associates. I filed a DV letter and got a response with the appropriate info. I filed an answer to the court summons and heard nothing more. Fast forward to now, around 8 months later, I got a letter in the mail that is a filing for a Motion For Summary Judgement. It appears to be a proper document, however on the last page next to the Attorney Signature there is in bold type the sentence " THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT, AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE".

It has me a little confused as to why that would be on there for a court filing? Is this a scare tactic? I know Stephen Bruce & Associates is known for their scare tactics. 

Also of note is that that Statute of Limitations passed on this last month, which also makes me wonder if this is a last attempt to scare me into paying. 

Any advice? If this is a true filing, would invoking the SOL argument in effect be confirming the debt and restart the SOL clock? 

[DaveInAZ]

Yeah, that "attempt to collect a debt" makes it sound phony, they would not put that in a document filed with the court. Does the copy you received say recorded by the court? It should be at the top of the first page, "Recorded in XXX Court" with a date and the name of the Court Recorder, initialed by the Recorder. Since you're out of state search online and see if you can find online access to the court. In AZ and some other states Turbocourt.com provides access to court records.

It does sound like a scare tactic to me, but if it is legit the court would have to have a hearing for the Summary Judgement and mail you a notice of the hearing date.

[Anonymous]

Well I have an update. I managed to call the Courthouse today and they confirmed that it was legit and that the date they filed was within the SOL for my state.

At this point do I have any options other than to call the debt collector and try and negotiate payments? They are representing the original creditor (Discover) and were able to supply debt verification.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Well I have an update. I managed to call the Courthouse today and they confirmed that it was legit and that the date they filed was within the SOL for my state.

At this point do I have any options other than to call the debt collector and try and negotiate payments? They are representing the original creditor (Discover) and were able to supply debt verification.

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You need to talk to a lawyer, not to us.

[DaveInAZ]

Well not many legal options. But be aware that if the Judge awards them Summary Judgement that will include the full amount of "damages" - the original debt amount plus default (high) interest, late fees, etc. - plus their expenses, legal fees, court fees, etc. So they may not be inclined to negotiate with you for anything less. But then if the court awards them Summary Judgement they then have to attempt to collect that by seizing any property, including bank accounts, and garnishing wages, and sometimes people play games like hide & seek making that hard to do, and the judgement is only enforceable within the state. So, a negotiated settlement may be more appealing to them. Good luck!

And yes, talking to a lawyer would be a good investment.