What happens when someone is being sued over unpaid collections?
In: Other
A lot of my clients lacked, shall we say, a “degree of sophistication,” so I’ll give it a shot. A lawsuit over unpaid bills in this:
The suit starts with a complaint. A complaint says you owe me some amount of money and this is why. The formal response is called an answer. Typically, an answer merely says, no I don’t. As such, a lawsuit begins by someone saying, “yeah, you do/did” and is responded to by saying “no I didn’t/don’t.”
Thereafter, the matter proceeds with a judge, or in many instances, a magistrate (not a “judge” in the truest sense of the term, but still a court official) presiding. The two parties then engage in “discovery,” which is a managed and formal exchange of information that is relevant to the issue at hand. You can’t just not give up relevant information because you don’t want to do so. Instead, you can be forced (or compelled) to do so. This is equally true for both sides. In addition, you may be forced to provide statements or testimony. This is true for both sides. If you don’t, no one is going to put you in jail. However, not providing such information could be construed against you and it could cause either side to lose its case.
Nothing is final until there’s a judgment against one side. Neither party can do anything about the issue until a judge or magistrate decides that you are permitted.
As such, if someone says “you owe me money” that person cannot legally do anything to get the money until a court says they can. You can’t just start taking stuff, selling stuff, taking wages, or otherwise without court permission to do so.
If you do nothing about a lawsuit, eventually the other party will ask the court to “find you in default” for your failure to do anything. This can’t happen anywhere in the US in less than a month and, realistically takes probably between 60-120 days before a court will do so. Of course, this all assumes all the formal procedure is done properly. Honestly, IN MANY COLLECTION ACTIONS THE FORMAL PROCEDURE IS NOT FOLLOWED CORRECTLY!!! CarMax, hospitals, credit cards, landlords, among others do not have proper documentation to pursue their claims because they often don’t have proper documents. Many sue for good reason, but just because someone sues, it doesn’t mean the one suing (the “plaintiff”) is correct.
It also means, if someone does sue you, don’t just not respond. Do something about it. In many instances, a person can get a more tolerable resolution via a court than just accepting what the plaintiff wants.
While this is more advanced than pre-school level, a civil case (which is anything that isn’t criminal) is vastly different from the typical criminal case that we see on TV. Civil cases usually involve money, not a person’s freedom, so courts/judges often want to find a way to get those things resolved/settled without trial.
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