I recently received a comment from an Ohio viewer regarding their defense of a debt buyer lawsuit. The viewer that is the subject of this video did a very good job challenging an LVNV Funding debt buyer lawsuit.

And just like almost every debt buyer lawsuit, this debt buyer only attached a document to the complaint showing only the original creditor statement. That was the only evidence provided to attempt to prove the debt was due to them.

From my other YouTube videos I told you that this is what most debt buyers do – they attached a statement from the original debt owner and hope that the person being sued doesn’t show up. Or, shows up and doesn’t defend themselves.

At the time that I received this viewer’s comment, the viewer filed an answer, then requested certain documents from the LVNV attorney to establish proof of their claim. The viewer requested proof that the debt buyer owns the debt. That’s good!

The viewer requested the original debt agreement and the version that shows the viewer’s signature agreeing to the agreement. The viewer requested proof that the claimed debt amount was correct, and a summary of any late charges or fees that were applied to the claim. The viewer said that they were waiting for a response from the debt buyer’s attorney.

While this viewer was waiting for a response, the court told this viewer that a pretrial will be scheduled soon and they will notify the viewer of the date and time.

The viewer’s comment asked if it was possible that the attorney will dismiss the case before it goes any further due to the low amount of the claimed debt owed? The viewer also asked if the attorney would possibly consider dismissing the case due to the documents being requested by the viewer. The viewer is thinking that the attorney may not have all of this proof and might throw in the towel.

The major question asked by this viewer was what to expect moving forward to be prepared. Here are my answers:

Never assume anything when you challenge a debt buyer lawsuit. Sometimes debt buyer attorneys confronted by challenges may find that it’s not worth pursuing if the debt is too low. But, don’t assume that. It’s not the attorney’s decision to not to continue the case. It’s their client – the debt buyer’s decision. The debt buyer could instruct their attorney to dismiss the case if the claim is not worth the extra time. But don’t assume that either.

Remember in previous debt buyer videos that I’ve posted, I said that you should make the debt buyer attorney work to prove their case. You have nothing to lose. If you don’t show up for the initial hearing date, the debt buyer gets an automatic default judgment against you.

A judgment will damage your credit score, appear on your credit report, and interfere with your future credit applications. You don’t want that to happen. Why would you let them do that to you without fighting?

Let’s get back to the viewer’s comment.

Now, the court schedules a pretrial. What is a pretrial? A pretrial is generally a future hearing date, that you have to appear at.  At the pretrial, the court asks the parties what are they looking to do moving forward with the case.

Are you going to continue to challenge? Will the debt buyer attorney be willing to fight? Did you reach a settlement agreement?

If you intend to continue the fight, then a trial date will be set by the court.

Expect that the debt buyer’s attorney will probably show up for the pretrial because the attorney more likely than not has a bunch of other similar cases filed with the court on the same date, and they’re being efficient with their time.

As far as delivering the requested documents to you, the debt buyer attorney may send you the documents that you requested prior to the hearing date. The debt buyer attorney may provide you with the documents that you requested at the pretrial hearing. If you receive the documents before the hearing, obviously make sure you review them to determine if the documents confirm that the debt buyer owns the debt and the debt is accurate. If that’s the case, then call the debt buyer attorney and work out a settlement.

If you receive the documents from the attorney at the pretrial debt, then when your case is called, ask the court to set another hearing date to provide you with sufficient time to review the documents. The court will probably grant your request. If not, tell the court that you may want to discuss the documents with an attorney, if that’s what you intend to do, and you need more time to do that.

In any event, when you get to the pretrial hearing, get there early and make sure that you walk up to the attorney and discuss the case once again. Once your case is filed, if you didn’t receive any documents either before or at the hearing from the debt buyer’s attorney, ask the court to dismiss the case. Tell the court that you do not have any evidence from the attorney that establishes proof of the debt being owed, and that you made a written request for the documents. The court may grant your request to dismiss the case.

If that happens, make sure you ask the court to dismiss the case with prejudice. That means that the debt buyer can never sue you ever again for this debt.

If you settle the case at the pretrial hearing, you can have the court acknowledge that on the record and dismiss the case – WITH PREJUDICE. But, you will also want to receive a written order from the court to put in your file if you need it for a credit bureau challenge in the future.

Remember that every state operates their courts and rules differently. Make sure you do your homework and follow your state’s laws and the court’s rules.