Being sued by Michael J. Scott, PC

I am being sued by Michael J. Scott, PC and have a court date set for September 21, 2011. All I recall getting in the mail was a letter of intent to sue. The problem is that I don't check the mail, my husband does. Most letters from debt collectors would go directly in the trash (this process has changed since being sued). I happened to open this one myself just to see what it was. So I could have gotten more, but there is no way for me to know for sure. A couple weeks later I had a notice IN MY MAILBOX from a courier (which is against the law in Texas). Later I figured out it was to serve me papers. I made a time to be home to receive them so I knew exactly what I was dealing with. I responded to the judge and the law firm denying everything. Next I received a letter from the court with the hearing date.
I haven't sent any paperwork to anyone other than the response denying everything. Is it too late to send a request for Assignment...or a Debt Validation letter? Is there anything else I should do to prepare for the hearing?
We will not be hiring a attorney, can't afford one. I did call one and the retainer and hourly rate were about the same amount as the debt. If I had that I'd just pay the debt off. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
Thank you!

This Michael J Scott person is threatening to file a law suit against me and my grandmother for a car I had that she co-signed for me. I sent the car back in 09 after purchasing it in 05 because I couldnt pay for it anymore. The amount that MJS is saying I owe is WAY above the amount that I owed when I sent it back. Plus, shouldnt this debt have stopped gaining intrest when they got the car back from me and then sold it right away to someone else? I am just wondering???? Also, my grandmother is living off of ss only. Can they take anything from her? Can they legally touch HER bank accounts or personal property? What about putting a judgement against her house or truck? I would appreciate any advice or help anyone could give me. Thank you!

I think the most important thing in dealing with the JDB (I have dealt with Scott), is to make sure you document everything very well. When you get you notices, send them a DV letter immediately. In Texas, the Texas Finance Code and the Texas Debt Collection Practices Act are much tougher than most states and in Texas they MUST validate within 30 days or cease all collections (Some interpretations say permanantly), even if it is after the initial 30 days of the FDCPA. If the DV letter response is not good enough, call their bluff and let them know this.

The last thing a JDB wants is an educated consumer. They will usually violate, and then act like you are stupid when you call them on it.

If you are in Texas, and need help let me know. I will help in whatever way can. So far, I am 3-0,and getting smarter every day thanks to the great people on this site and others. I am getting more and more familiar with Texas laws, which are for the most part, some of the best consumer friendly laws in the country.

Don't Mess With Texas.

Stick101010,

I'm in Texas. Court date is for 9/21. All that I know that I got for sure was a "courtesy copy" as his office called it, of a letter of intent to sue. I got this around the end of June. Hard to remember because nothing has a date on it. About 2wks later I received a notice through courier saying I was being sued. I did return this circling "deny" and sent it to both the judge and MJS's office (certified/return receipt..took almost three weeks to get the card back from MJS). Then in August I get the letter from the judge saying when my court date was.


They claimed to have sent other items, but like I said, I don't look at the mail often. Nothing was done certified...I would think if they were to prove they sent it, they'd need to do that. Heck, the courier didn't even have me sign anything.


So this all happened kind of quick and before I knew what things I should do, there was really no time to do it. My question is what should I watch for at the hearing and what things should I ask for or mention?

Thank you so much!!!

If you have a 9/21 court date, it might be too late to send off for discovery. You need to try to make them prove their case, and the best way to do that is through discovery. You might be able to send them discovery, and then request a continuance from the court. This will put you in a much better situation.

Thanks for the advice...I think it may be a little late to do anything with this one. I will be more prepared if this happens again. With having to evacuate for a few days and the fires still going down here, we are just going to deal with what is felt us at the hearing. If we have to pay, we'll figure it out.


We have a few credit cards we had to stop paying on in order to afford the mortgage. I'm keeping track of things and have sent out a debt validation to one of the collectors. I haven't gotten a response, but I did get another bill saying my payment was past due. I hope they don't think that's sufficient LOL.


Thank you and good luck to everyone in similar situations.

Hi there, I was also sued by MJS on "Behalf" of Cap 1, for the whole "Breach of Contract" thing, which is what I am assuming that he has sued you for as well. In answer to your question about the SOL and when it starts etc. Here is the information that I had prepared for my defense amongst other things.
This is directly from the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies
"The statute of limitations for breach-of-contract actions is four years from the date of accrual." See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. 16.051 (Vernon 2008); Stine v. Stewart, 80 S.W.3d 586, 592 (Tex.2002) "It is well settled that an action for breach of contract accrues immediately upon breach." Barker v. Eckman, 213 S.W.3d 306, 311 (Tex. 2006); Stine, 80 S.W.3d at 592. "A breach of contract occurs when a party fails or refuses to do something he has promised to do." Mays v. Pierce, 203 S.W.3d 564, 575 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied); Townewest Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Warner Commc'n Inc., 826 S.W.2d 638, 640 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, no writ.

SUBCHAPTER C. RESIDUAL LIMITATION PERIOD

Sec. 16.051. RESIDUAL LIMITATIONS PERIOD. Every action for which there is no express limitations period, except an action for the recovery of real property, must be brought not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues.


Ok so basically in laymens terms if its well settled that the cause of action accrues immediately upon breach and that Breach occurs the moment a party fails to do something they promised to do, it can be said that breach occurred when you made your first late or partial payment and failed to catch up or pay tha balance back into good standing.by getting down to $0 with all late fees etc., paid in full. So lets say you failed to make a payment in February of 2006, you are technically in full breach by March (30 days later) of 2006. Your SOL clock starts ticking in March of 2006 and is up exactly 4 years later and as long as they have not brought suit before the SOL has run its course they have nothing to base the suit on.
Having said that I'll say that alot of these debt collectors, including MJS, will reage your credit reports to reflect different dates, as they did with ours. They will often rely on the "Last payment made" and base the SOL on that which is not correct or they will rely on "Date of Major delinquency" which is often reaged and is not correct either. The moment you became 30 days late on the account, you were in breach of contract and the cause of action has accrued that very moment. You continue to be in breach unless you have paid the balance in full including the late fees.
Not all judges will rule on this in your favor unless you can cite this and get them to understand. Judges dont often rule directly against written law so its good to have this code printed off and taken with you. Because our Credit reports were reaged by a full two years reflecting that we had supposedly made a payment, I also had printed off 8 Years of bank statements proving we had not and submitted those to the court and served them to MJS a week before the trial. Almost 450 pages of evidence in our favor, including some of his very own exhibits with discrepancies, landed on his desk just days before the court date and the case was DWOP'd, because he didnt show.

I have been sued. I cannot afford an attorney. Help. What do I do next? The plaintiff says Cap One. It's all car of Michael J. Scott, PC. I don't believe that I ever recieved a letter stating that I would be getting sued, otherwise I would have been freaking out before now. The debt is about 3 and a half years old. It won't hit 4 years until May next year. If he went through with filing in the courts already, does that mean that he can verify the debt?

The odd part is, it's showing as a small business credit card, I've never had a business, much less a credit card for one. I'm confused. I just recieved the citation today.

I would definitely make sure you answer the summons. If it is in J.P. Court, you can file a counter for only $39.00 if you have any volations against the JDB (usually there are lots of them). Most of the time the JDB will do a dismissal with prejudice rather then have to actually litigate a counterclaim. I have documented the violations with all of theJDBs I have dealt wiith, and this has been my results.

Anwer the summons, include your counterclaim and your discovey request at the same time. In Texas, you have about 2 weeks to answer complaint, and then 50 days to answer any included dscovery. If you include your discovery request with your answer, the plaintiff will only have 30 days to answer it, which will put you ahead of the person suing if you work it right.

Post a seperat topc, and youwill get help with any questions.

thanks

So I received a letter from the JP that I have to be in court tomorrow 11/8/11 at 1 pm in reference to being sued by Cap 1 via MJS. Today I get a letter via Lone Star Overnight from MJS stating that they have filed for a 180 day continuence while they collect documents & discovery & urge me to call them to settle this matter. I'm going tomorrow regardless cause I received nothing from the JP about a continuence. What really still pisses me off is the fact that they used a false address for Cap 1 on the initial citation. I don't have a clue as to whether or not I stand a chance, but I'm going to try. Any advice would be appreciated.

you do show up as skydiver noted this place is notorious for tactics like this.they are hoping you don't show,but bring that letter with you.then demand validation per discovery.bottomline they nost likely can't validate this and want a default and sent that letter in an attempt to get just that.show up with that letter,demand validation during discovery.can't say that enough.

A little piece of short history. Around the time I was served in August we had a BIG water leak at the courthouse which led to asbestos being discovered during cleanup. The courthouse has remained closed since then so the JP is operating out of a different county office.

My hearing was set for today 11/8/11 at 1pm at the new location. Yesterday I received overnight correspondence from MJS re: them filing a 180 day continuance. I decided to go in to the JP anyway. I got there early & waited till 2pm, nobody ever came back to the office after lunch, not even the JP. About 10 min. after 1 pm a strange car with a strange woman (it's a VERY small town. strangers are obvious & all the current docs I have are signed by a female) pulled in & parked. She got out, tried the door & got back in & on the phone. We both sat there. Finally @ 2 I noticed a sign on the door at the tax office (right next door) stating they were closing at noon due to the voting going on today. I approached the lady to tell her I thought maybe the JP was closed too for the same reason but she wouldn't look at me (except out of the corner of her eye lol). Guess a woman holding a 6 month old baby in a small town is pretty scary. So I got in my car & drove to the annex behind the courthouse & was told by a clerk the JP office WAS closed. Confused me till I got home & found in the mail (mail doesn't come till after 1 outside of town where I live) a letter from JP telling me the hearing was rescheduled for Nov 29 at 1pm. Now I don't know if he rescheduled due to the voting or if he rescheduled per their request, but they asked for 180 days per their own copies sent to me & the only one besides me to show up was a strange female, so I really think they never filed for a continuance like they said. I think they sent me the paperwork at the last minute so I couldn't verify with the JP hoping I wouldn't show up. If so, it's hilarious cause they have a 5 hr drive one way to get here just to find the JP is the one who didn't show.

This law office gives 35 days to send a verification request 5 more than required by the FDCPA so you were probably a little outside your allowed time. That being said I do suggest you try to hire an attorney as this office usually looses in cases where attorneys are retained. They will also try to show up in court using notarized statements to validate their "evidence" you should know that notarized statements are considered hearsay testimony under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and not allowed. On the day of your court hearing they will try and get you to settle at terms much better then the collector that called you offered. If you do know you owe this and want to pay that will be an option. I suggest at that time you offer them 20 cents on the dollar.

[SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]I responded to this kind man that I would be glad to see him in court that if he did show up and won. I would then file bankruptcy and let the feds sort it out. He then soon filed a non-suit motion with the court. He only wants you not to reply or show up. Most of these well educated lawyers, (Except in Ethics) want to scare you even the ones that want to represent you and charge high fees to defend this. You have rights in Texas if the debt is over 4 years old he can not file; look it up on your credit report. It is presumed that this debt was bought for pennies on the dollars and this kind gentleman wants to make so easy money off your misery. Kirk [COLOR=black][FONT=Arial][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]

I have received several calls from the Michael J. Scott Law Firm. I only found out they were trying to contact me because someone showed up at my mom's house to serve me papers. They had a different address for me at a place I had actually been living at until recently. I don't know how they got my mother's address or why they didn't try contacting me where I was actually staying. I contacted them to find out what they wanted. Now they are calling me and when I answer there is no one on the line. As far as I know I never received a debt verification request letter from them. I'm not sure whether they ever sent one or not since they never contacted me where I was living. I'm not sure where to go from here. I've talked to two different people at the firm and each gave me a different amount to pay to make a settlement. I am a stay at home mother of 2. I haven't worked in over a year and they know this. I spoke to the server who went to my mother's house and she informed me that since I no longer live in that county they have to refile papers to serve me. I have been trying to work with the law firm to avoid going to court but without me working any amount they give me is too much for me to be able to afford as I would have to borrow the money from someone else to pay them. I told them I can't afford the amount they are wanting and now they call and don't respond when I answer the phone. They won't leave any messages if I don't answer either. Does anyone have any advice for me? Does anyone know what happens if they do take me to court? Also the debt they are trying to collect on is from an old Capital One credit card. I have spoken with Capital One and was advised any payment has to go through the law firm so I know they have the right to collect the debt. Capital One also advised me the account was charged off Nov 2009. Can they take me to court if I never received anything from them?

Hello,
I read some posts with your reply on them in regards to being sued by Michael J Scott and i think you are very knowledgeable. I was hoping you could give me some advice, I am apparently being sued by him but I haven't been served and have not been contacted by his office either. I received a letter in the mail this morning from an different attorneys office wanting to represent me in my lawsuit against Michael J Scott and Capital One. I don't know what to do at this point. The letter included a case number that they got from the El Paso country district Court and I looked it up and sure enough I am being sued. What should i do at this point? I got the CC when i was fresh out of High School and couldn't continue making payments on it so I'm sure what they're saying i owe is accurate but what can i do? Will he accept payment plans before pursuing through court? If you could help I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank You!

Hello,
I read some posts and I was hoping I could get some advice, I am apparently being sued by him but I haven't been served and have not been contacted by his office either. I received a letter in the mail this morning from an different attorneys office wanting to represent me in my lawsuit against Michael J Scott and Capital One. I don't know what to do at this point. The letter included a case number that they got from the El Paso country district Court and I looked it up and sure enough I am being sued. What should i do at this point? I got the CC when i was fresh out of High School and couldn't continue making payments on it so I'm sure what they're saying i owe is accurate but what can i do? Will he accept payment plans before pursuing through court? If you could help I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank You!

Ok... a couple of days ago I was apparently served papers. They look official, but I've never been sued before, so I don't know the procedure. She didn't have me sign anything, it was just a woman in casual clothes.

There was also a yellow card attached saying "It isn't too late to settle this matter out of court" ..... and urging me to call his law office.

Was this a ruse to get me to call him, or can cards like that be attached to the papers?

The introductory paragraph says: "You have been sued. You may employ an attorney. If you or your attorney do not file a written answer with the clerk who issued this citation by 10:00 am on the Monday next following the expiration of ten days after you were served this citation and petition, a default judgement may be taken against you for the relief demanded in the petition."

So... when do I need to file the written answer?

It was originally a debt through HSBC, now held by VION Holdings... and the SOL has not expired. Due to 2 1/2 years of unemployment, I defaulted on a number of credit cards..... I paid as long as we could, but about 2 years ago, the money ran out.

Quote:

My husband got a call from this company today stating they were going to sue us if we did not pay them. It is a capital one account that started off as a $500 limit, but is now up to $1800. They said they will settle for $1400, with a down payment of $600. We tried to do a settlement with capital one, but they would not do it. We do not have the money to pay them $600 and do not want to be sued. We have not received any letters, can we ask for a letter of validation?

In the court notice you have been served, there is a Reply (or Answer) questionnaire. That is your response to the law suit. You have about 15 days from service to file a response at the court clerk's office, or you lose right away.

Assuming that you have filed your response, you will receive a letter from the court for a hearing date.

Michael Scott's strategy is to hope that you won't show up. A few days before the court date, you will receive a mail from Michael Scott's office, containing his Motion in the Court for Continuance. Basically. he would be requesting another date from the judge, with an excuse that he has to complete some "recoveries".

That is a non-sense. Since he represents the plaintiff, he should have everything before suing you.

And this is your best chance to get the case dismissed.

What you need to do is, write your own motion on a plain paper, stating that if there are no recoveries, and plaintiff had plenty of time before suing you and after suing you, that Continuance may be denied and a trial should be held.

A Couple of days prior, fax a copy of this Motion to Mr. Scott's office. This is important.

Michael Scott (or his assintant) comes to the court taking for granted that their motion for Continuance will be granted. At the point, you can ask them about their so-called "recoveries". What are they trying to recover that they were unable to before suing or after? Why is that recovery so important that a Continuance is being requested, but was not recovered prior to suing? You can also say that it will be hard for you to take off from work if Continuance was granted.

9 out of 10, the attorney in the court will not be familiar with the case, and say that he was not ready for trial. There is a huge chance that the case will be immediately dismissed.

:( I am being sued by capital one card debt (my business which is not doing good and no money). I also between jobs on and off.

I cannot afford attorney and how I can deal with this situation?

Can I represent myself? Is it okay to contact this guys by email to explain my financial situation and my inability to pay? or should I answer only to court after I receive the summons?

frustrated.

Do you have a defense? A valid one? Being unemployed is not a defense.

You need to call them to see what can be done. They will more than likely ignore written requests.

I am getting flyers/notices from law firms claiming (based on what I/they could see in the court website) that they can help me to file bankcruptcy. I have not got any official letter/document in mail. Will I get any mail by certified mail or sent by process server/court? I hope they drop in the lawn claim that they delivered it to me? How this process works?. I am in the process of finding an attorney. I have no money and I cannot afford to pay or settle this case.

[LEFT]I did send them a debt validation letter asking for them to give me more information on the debt... they replied that they didn't have to do that, and was ready to file a suit if I didn't contact them. They did file the suit shortly after.

Ok..... I received a court date of September 11, 2012. A little over a week ago, I received a letter from the local court saying that Michael J. Scott had asked for a Continuance, but the judge denied it. (That was faxed to them on August 30, but on August 31 the judge denied the continuance, and said the trial would still stand on September 11.)

Meanwhile, Thursday, September 7, I call their office to see if I we can come to an agreement on a settlement. I offered 20%, (which would be about $300 on their new amount of about $1500, based on original debt of $1137 and costs) and she basically laughed at me..... countered with over $900. I said I just couldn't do that much, and she said she would talk to her supervisor. I called back that evening, and got their bottom line offer of $752 and change... basically 50%. I said I just couldn't do that, I just didn't have the money, so I would see them in court on Tuesday.

Little did I know, that on September 4, they had filed a "non-suit" ..... basically dropping the suit? I didn't find that out until I showed up in court today. I guess it wasn't worth them driving from Dallas to just north of Austin, TX... although, there was a "local counsel" representing his firm on other cases. One he lost, and one he won.
[/LEFT]

So..... that one is taken care of, and I still have another in a week that I don't know what to do about... it is for $5200 original debt, and I didn't send ANY validation letter or any answer to their questions, so I don't know if I have a snowball's chance on that one. For that amount of money, I'm sure they will pursue it. This is with a different lawyer, one from San Antonio, which is just 2 hours or so south of us.

[COLOR=black]Be very careful,[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]there are a group of lawyers working together, ones file a law suit and the others contact you to defend you, but they all are together in this legal scam.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Please contact " The Attorney general Office ???and speak with them about this practices ,it is illegal ,they have nothing against you , they trying to scary you and make you pay.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Others lawyers involved are Ciment,Heston,Garza and many others.[/COLOR]