If you reside here in San Antonio or anywhere in Texas, we can help you if you have been sued by your credit card company or sued by a debt collection company. Call us for more information. A constable or private process server has just handed you a lawsuit on an old credit card debt or loan. You thought this mess was behind.
What Should You Do Next?In order to protect your property and bank accounts, you need to hire an attorney and act fast.
How Long Do You Have to Respond?The length to respond varies depending on what kind of Court you were sued in. If you were sued in the Justice of the Peace Court in Texas, you have 14 days to file an answer (response). If your fourteenth day is a weekend or Court holiday, you have until the next business day the Court is open.
If you are sued in the District Court or a County Court, you have until the first Monday following 20 days from when you are served. Further, the deadline is 10 a.m. Your answer date is pushed back if the Monday is a legal holiday. In that case, your response is due on the next day the Courthouse is open. {If the 20th day falls on a Monday, you have until the next Monday to file your response).
How Should You Respond?The most important part of your answer is the “general denial.” In your general denial, you deny each and every allegation made against you. You can also include specific denials such as the fact that you never had an agreement with the Plaintiff nor did you owe the debt collector any money.
You can also include verified denials and affirmative defenses. These defenses are raised when you do not dispute the what the Plaintiff is claiming in its lawsuit, but you either a) have an excuse or b) the Plaintiff is barred from recovering for a particular reason or defect on their part. Some common defenses are statute of limitations (the debt collector must bring the suit within four years) or the claim that the wrong person has been sued (you have the same name as your father and it is his debt).
You may also raise the issue that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong Court. The lawsuit must be brought in the county and precinct (if in JP Court) where you reside or where you entered into the agreement. If it was filed in the incorrect Court, we will file a Motion to Transfer Venue on your behalf. If we prevail on your behalf, the Court must transfer the case to the proper Court. Most importantly, if the debt collector filed in the wrong Court, you have a counterclaim against them for violating the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.
Discovery and AdmissionsMany debt collectors will try to trick you by including requests for admissions in their lawsuit. This is a very important reason to hire an attorney to assist you on your journey. In these requests for admissions, they ask a lot of questions that if you were to answer “yes” would prove the debt collectors case. If you fail to answer their requests for admission on time, the debt collector can get a judgment against you because the failure to answer is the same as saying “yes.”
Contact Us TodayIf you have been served with a lawsuit from your old credit card company or a debt collector, call 800-862-1260 or 210-222-2288 (in San Antonio). You may have as little as 14 days to respond.