Sometime ago I started a thread where I asked for help in defending myself against a lawsuit filed against me by a Junk Debt Buyer ("JDB").in a nutshell, this JDB is the second owner of this debt that originally charged off in 2000 (last payment on the account was allegedly made in 1999). This JDB claimed that I made payments towards this account which reset the statute of limitations for this debt (the statute of limitations in NY is 6 years).
Several months ago I sent a request for information (Bill of Particulars) to the JDB. The JDB sent me a Bill of Sale that (1) did not mention my account specifically and (2) an affidavit from their records custodian alleging that I owe this debt and that the statute of limitations was reset (hearsay). Also included by the JDB was the resume of the Records Custodian and the Bill of Sale from the Original Creditor ("OC") to the second JDB. Out of all of the days to be set for pretrial, today was the day that I had to go. Needless to say, I was annoyed about having to get up early the day after Thanksgiving.
With the help of this board and a community Consumer Law center, I learned that the JDB has a pretty hefty burden of proof to meet. Basically, practically everything I received by way of the Bill of Particulars was worthless because it did not mention the account number and/or my name. For example, the JDB sent an illegible copy of a Terms and Conditions ("T&C"), but as the attorney at the Consumer Law Center pointed out, the T&C that was sent had nothing that specified that it was the T&C for the account in dispute. Thankfully, the Consumer Law attorney was able to draft a Request for Document Production (Discovery) that a friend of mine mailed via certified mail to the JDB's attorneys on Monday night; I showed the judge and the attorney a copy of the discovery request which covers a lot of bases.
Cut to the appearance today, the lawyer for the JDB spoke first and said that the JDB is suing me for this account and he stated what the amount that they are suing for. When the judge turned to me, I stated that I had sent the JDB a discovery request that they should receive today or early next week. The JDB's attorney then stated that "Oh yes, your honor, I received an email from the client this morning asking that I request an adjournment so that they may serve subpoenas on to get these documents." I can't remember at what point it came up, but the JDB lawyer said that he did have documentation to show today, he proceeded to take out a copy of the Bill of Particulars. I quickly chimed in stating that the information contained in the Bill of Particulars was heresay; the JDB lawyer said something like "It is affidavits from the JDB."
I was near fuming at this point! I said that the information from the JDB can't be used because it is hearsay, information needs to come from the OC. Ultimately, the judge scheduled us for trial in mid April, the judge said that the JDB lawyers must send me the discovery documents by the end of March.
It makes me upset that these JDB's can initiate lawsuits with virtually nothing to substantiate their claim; their hope is that people won't answer the summons or don't show up so that they can get default judgment. They prey on people's lack of knowledge in this area and hope that they will intimidate people into caving into their demands; they want people to make admissions that they can twist to their advantage.
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