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You’ve Been Sued.  Now What?

It can feel terrifying when you’ve been sued.  Relax.  We can handle this together.  Even if you owe a debt, there are lots of things you can do to defend yourself from a lawsuit over it.  That’s where we come in.  We take over all communications with the creditor’s attorney, leaving you to get back to your life.  We draft and serve all of the papers necessary to make sure you’re in the best legal position you can be.  We leave no stone unturned in hunting for options for you to avoid them getting a judgment against you.  No law firm can guarantee results, and we don’t, but we will fight for you to get the best possible outcome in your circumstances.

Whether you simply want to get a good settlement, with terms for repayment you can live with–or fight the lawsuit and avoid paying any part of a disputed debt–we can help.  Just like you, we think people ought to pay their just and owing debts.  Even so, if someone uses the Court system to enforce payment of those debts, they must prove that you owe those debts and that they have a right to collect them.  Oftentimes debts are bought and sold many times over, like a rusty used car.  By the time the case gets to Court, the creditor may not be able to prove a good chain of title for that debt.  Without a good defense, you could wind up paying that debt twice.

Hire Us To Defend Your Case Or Help With A Garnishment

If you have received lawsuit papers or are being sued or garnished by a debt collection law firm, we may be able to help. Unfortunately, we do not work for free on these matters but we may offer brief free phone consultations on them. We get a very large volume of individuals who would like assistance on these types of cases but we are only able to offer that assistance on an hourly fee basis. Many of our prospective clients who have been sued or garnished simply don’t have claims that fall under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or under other federal consumer protection statutes. Since we can’t make the other side pay your legal fees in these instances, you’ll have to pay us upfront for any work we do on these types of matters.

There is a $500.00 retainer fee for a one hour initial legal consultation on any lawsuit defense or garnishment action. After you have paid the fee online, you’ll come to our office with all of the lawsuit or garnishment papers you have received and any other materials you would like us to review in the matter. We’ll review those documents and advise you on the best course of action in your case. If it makes sense for us to further represent you, we’ll execute a new retainer agreement, you will pay any additional retainer fees we specify, and then we will proceed on an hourly basis to assist you in your legal matter.

Standing

A creditor must prove that it has “standing” to sue you.  That means they must prove that they own the debt.

Statute of Limitations

The debt being sued on has to be within the Statute of Limitations.  Usually, it’s six years in Minnesota.  In Wisconsin, it’s generally three years.  There are lots of exceptions to these general rules.

Illegal Fees

It’s illegal to add collection fees to a lawsuit unless they are specifically provided for in the contract or allowed by law.  Even then, the Court has to review and approve the amount after judgment.

What kind of clients do you work with?
Our clients are good folks, just like you, who may be struggling to pay their consumer debts.  Bankruptcy doesn’t make sense for them, but they still feel the sting of collection harassment and have been sued.
How do you get paid your fees?

On debt defense cases, we generally take a $500 fee up-front to analyze your case and advise you of your options.  We want to make things right for you and with more than 25 years of combined federal litigation experience, you can be assured we’ll do our very best legal work for you.  If you’re interested in hiring us, click here to get started.

How long will my case take?

Every case is different.  Some settle quickly, some last longer.  Generally speaking, one year from filing-to-finish is a good estimate for how long a debt collection case takes in the State Court.  It depends on what evidence is needed in your case and whether or not we need more evidence against the creditor.

What can I do to make my case successful?

Get all of your papers that have been served on you to our office as soon as possible.  Keep them clean and neat, and avoid writing on them.  Make a note of the date and time you were served.  Don’t call the creditor’s attorney.  They can’t give you legal advice and you may inadvertently make admissions we want to avoid. Immediately document every communication you have with any debt collector, whether by letter, by phone or by message. Make detailed notes of any conversations you have with a debt collector during the conversation. Keep this log next to your phone.  SAVE every single voice mail, answering machine message, collection letter, and paper message. Don’t throw anything away, including the envelopes that the collection letters come in or anything included with the collection letter.  Here’s a handy Collection Communications Log that will help.

Some Important Considerations If You’ve Been Sued

If you have been sued, the first thing to do is not panic.  Time is of the essence, though, so call us right away.  The sooner we know about your lawsuit the more likely we are to be able to help you.  The law limits the amount of time you have to file a written answer to defend yourself in a lawsuit (typically within 20 days after you have been served with the lawsuit).
WARNING:  There’s no such thing as a “fake” lawsuit.  In Minnesota, lawsuits are started by simply typing up a Complaint and then sending a process server to your home or work and handing it to you or a family member.  That’s all it takes to sue someone in Minnesota.  Don’t ever assume that a lawsuit isn’t real.  Most lawsuits are never filed with the Courts, so it’s no surprise when the clerk’s office tells you they have no record of your lawsuit.  It’s still a real lawsuit, and there’s still a real chance that you will lose it by default if you don’t serve the creditor’s lawyer with a written Answer within the time allowed by law. That’s where our law firm can help.

There are lots of good defenses that your lawyers can assert for you against a consumer debt lawsuit: Statute of limitations, disputed amount, wrong venue, wrong party to sue, and so on.  We’re experts at clearing the evidentiary weeds and getting to the truth.  Just because you owe a debt and have been sued, you still have lots of defense options.  The creditor has to prove its case in Court.  When our law firm’s on the other side of the courtroom, that means they don’t just steamroll you with a blizzard of paper and empty arguments.  When it’s right, we fight.

Here’s a link to some of the many debt collectors we can help you with.

Hire Us In Three Easy Steps

If you’re ready to hire us for a one hour initial legal consultation on your debt defense or garnishment matter:

  1. Read the agreement below, sign your full name electronically (Example: “s/John Q. Public”) in the box below. Provide us with a good telephone number to contact you during the day, and an electronic mail address where we can exchange documents with you if necessary, by completing the box below.
  2. Click the “Print this Page” button and keep a copy of this agreement for your records.
  3. Then click the register and pay button below and complete the additional information to make your successful $500.00 payment.

After your payment has been received, we will contact you directly to arrange a time for us to meet to discuss your matter fully. If you like, we can review your matter over the telephone if you scan and email to us all the documents we need.

Please Print This Agreement And Save For Your Records
Please Print This Agreement And Save For Your Records

Experience

 

I have more than 22 years of federal consumer rights litigation experience.  There is no tougher place in the world to litigate than in United States Federal District Court.  You'll be glad that your lawyer has both the knowledge of the Court, and the success to back it up.

 

Innovation

 

I've professionally trained thousands lawyers all over the country on how to sue debt collectors.  I gather all of the best ideas from my legal seminars and bring them back to my law practice.  Because I've taught thousands of lawyers in all 50 States, my reputation is second-to-none.

 

Technology

 

I run an all digital, paperless, law office.  I can instantly access any document that has ever been created in your legal file from a secure cloud.  Quickly and efficiently.  Paper is scanned, optically-character-recognized and fully word-searchable.  That makes me effective for you and tough for our opponents.

 

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Communication

 

As a consumer lawyer, I pride myself in answering my own phone and email.  If I'm available to talk, we will talk.  Email is always a great way for you to reach me and I make every effort to get back to you in 24 hours or less.  I don't avoid clients.  I serve them.