HELP HELP HELP!!! Judgement

[Anonymous]

Note:  A State Court lacks Jurisdiction to hear FDCPA violations.

          FDCPA violations fall into Federal Administrative and Federal Court Jurisdictions.

Peace. 

[Anonymous]

Are you absolutely, 100% sure the notice was from the court? About three years ago, I received what I thought was a notice from the court regarding a collection account. I read the "notice" three times, before I saw (in small, fine print on the bottom of page 1) that this notice was from a collection agency.....pretty sneaky are some of these agencies. ....and made to look like a court summons. I ignored it, nothing ever happened. BTW that judgement has since disappeared.

Message Edited by cobra19 on 07-27-2007 08:00 AM

[Tink]

Hi Cobra. Yes. It's from the court. I actually called and spoke to the clerk. I faxed my intent to defend form and received a hearing scheduled for 09/18. I will be there. I sentr another debt validation request. This time I sent it certified mail and received my return receipt.

[Anonymous]

Tink, you need to speak to an attorney. There is no way you should walk into that courtroom without adequate legal representation. You will not be taken seriously by the judge or the adverse attorney. You have problems with your evidence. You say you sent a letter before they sued, but you can't prove it. Now you've sent a letter via certified mail, but that was after you were sued. You need an attorney to represent you because when you get to the hearing you are going to be so emotionally charged that you will not say what you mean and you could wind up in big trouble. To answer your original question, a judgment may not appear on all three credit bureaus but it will appear on one or two. In any event, the judgment will appear on any background check that is done on you in the future (say, for employment). A judgment stays on the public record for 10 years and then it can be renewed every 10 years, so theoretically this judgment could follow you until the day you die or the day it is paid plus 10 years. Once the judgment is declared in court there is NO way that it can be removed from your record (any more than a criminal conviction could be removed). You will never be able to get a mortgage or to refinance an existing mortgage with a judgment on your record. It's true that there are some jurisdictions that are more debtor friendly, but you can't take the risk that this will happen. Unless you can bring a certified check for the amount requested with you at the at the hearing, you can forget about winning the case unless you have an attorney. An attorney can make all kinds of motions for delay, etc., that you don't know about. If you want to know more about what happens in these small courts, go visit a justice of the peace (or similar court) on Thursdays. That's when eviction hearings are held (here in Texas). That is one of the saddest things you will ever see: families crying to the judge and then being forcefully removed from the courtroom. You know, it's probably a relatively small amount and you think it's just a dinky little courtroom, but it has the full weight of the state and can change your life forever. I don't mean to alarm you, but you need to know that this situation is not the same as asking a creditor to delete a listing because you are going to pay them. This is much more serious and can affect your life for many years to come. Go see an attorney as soon as possible. If you can't afford one, go to your local legal aid society. If you don't know how to get in touch with the legal aid society, call your local bar association and ask them where to go. (Think of it this way: you wouldn't do your own root canal, would you?)

[Anonymous]

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@Tink wrote:

Hi Cobra. Yes. It's from the court. I actually called and spoke to the clerk. I faxed my intent to defend form and received a hearing scheduled for 09/18. I will be there. I sentr another debt validation request. This time I sent it certified mail and received my return receipt.

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Tink, I wanted to share this with you.

Every time I've went to court pro se (alone), regardless if it was for a divorce, traffic ticket or defending myself against creditors, I've lost. As a matter of fact I've been embarrassed by the plaintiff's attorney.

I would never again go in front of a judge without a lawyer.

Whatever you do, good luck and let us know how it went.

One other thing, at this point DV is useless. They aren't going to respond to you. Your going to have to do all this through the courts now. It's called discovery.

Message Edited by alkizz on 07-28-2007 09:38 AM

[Anonymous]

TINK:

All of this advice from all of these different folks comes with good intentions, but before you do ONE MORE THING, before you call the courthouse again, before you set foot out of the house on Monday morning, call and get yourself an attorney.

Period.

As much as many of us don't care for lawyers, this is a prime example of when one can do you some good.

Get a lawyer and get one quick. You'll be better off and you'll rest easier knowing that your problem is in someone else's capable hands.

Get a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

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Patience wrote:

Note:  A State Court lacks Jurisdiction to hear FDCPA violations.

          FDCPA violations fall into Federal Administrative and Federal Court Jurisdictions.

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Not true. State courts can and do hear FCRA and FDCPA violation cases.

[Anonymous]

Noah, this occurs, in my understanding, when State law paralels Federal law. That is, State legislatures always have the right to adopt any Federal law enacted, however, where State law is different, State law will prevail in a State court and Federal law will prevail in Federal courts. Good examples of this are the many State law suits against the Federal governent and vica versa regarding a variety of legal issues regarding States rights granted under the US Constitution. 

If a defendant brought in some Federal agency rule or regulation or even a CFR (code of federal regulations) law to defend an action in a State court that has no legal standing in State law the Plaintiff simply argues LOJ (lack of Jurisdiction) of th State court to hear a Federal law and the case is thrown out on LOJ. Should the Judge find in favor of defendant based on a federal law that he doesn not have proper Jursidiction to hear it becomes subject to appeal on LOJ. There is a history going back to the start of common law and tons of US Supreme court decisions regarding this matter.

While I agree that even a tribal court may have discretion to hear anything, it (the court) can only decide a case it has Juristiction over. That is, in its final Judgment the court's Judgment must be based on the Laws it has discretion over. Simply stated, a State court can not decide Federal law.

It may however take Equity principles of Federal law into consideration but yet can not decide Federal law. If it does it will be turned back on Appeal every time, see case histories over the years.

Therefore, at the outset, why would one want to argue Federal law in a State court when one has the option to argue State law in State Court and Federal law in Federal Court? If one wants to argue Federal law why not file in Federal Court? Ask any of your Judge friends or reseach case histories over the years or even current Supreme Court Decisions.

[Anonymous]

Everyone here has good intentions and is trying to the best of his or her ability to contribute some bit of information or knowledge that may be helpful. The confusion I see is that many are reading the Fair Credit Reporting Act enacted by congress that regulates the interaction by and between Credit Agencies and others then attempting to enter local State Courts armed with the knowlege gained from the single source law referance. Many well placed efforts are being defeated by civil Plaintiff's attorneys well versed in State credit laws as well as the FCRA etc.  Therefore, in order to balance the playing field we as consumers should be armed with knowledge of what each of our State credit laws are as well as FCRA etc. 

Peace.

[Anonymous]

It's my understanding this is a subject that law students several weeks on in law school, so it ain't gonna be settled here.

There are pros and cons to being in federal court, but it's not required for one to be in front of a federal judge for FCRA and FDCPA violations. For one, going before a federal judge pro se (representing oneself) can be foolhardy, and the state courts are sometimes intended to encourage individuals to sue pro se. Many small claims courts are very user friendly and consumer oriented.

Here is a rather good, but long and winded, read on the subject of Removal for those with litigious minds.
http://www.twgfirm.com/130822.pdf