Debt Collection Lawsuit Guide

Getting sued by a debt collector is upsetting, and dealing with the legal system can be intimidating. Fortunately, dealing with a debt collection lawsuit is not as difficult or expensive as you may think. I have been helping consumers get great results in debt collection lawsuits for years, using free forms, unbundled services, and flat fees to keep costs manageable.

I can advise you how to handle your lawsuit, or I can handle it for you, but in order to decide what to do, you need to know what to expect. The steps below are the rough outline of a debt collection lawsuit. Most lawsuits include these steps, but some lawsuits involve more or fewer steps. Most people can handle steps 1, 2, and 6 on their own, but will want a consumer lawyer’s help with the rest.

If you need or want help from a consumer lawyer, contact me. I can help you understand your options and take care of the next step on your lawsuit, or handle it for you.

Here are the steps of a typical debt collection lawsuit, and how I can help with each step:

Step 1: Answer and request discovery

This is the number one, most-important thing to do when you are served with a summons and complaint. If you do not answer the complaint you received, you will probably lose the lawsuit, which means you will not be able to dispute the amount of the debt. It doesn’t matter whether the lawsuit has been filed with the court; if you get a summons and complaint, answer it. You should also find out what evidence the plaintiff (the creditor, that is) has to prove you owe a debt.

I make this step easy. Just sign up to receive my free answer and discovery request form and you can fill it out yourself. Even debt collectors admit my answer and discovery requests forms are good! (They would just rather you didn’t use it.)

If you need help with this step, you can sign up for a consultation, and I will help you complete the form and serve it on the plaintiff.

Step 2: Negotiate

After you serve the answer and discovery requests, it is almost always a good idea to find out what amount the plaintiff may be willing to settle the lawsuit for. You do not have to accept it, but at a minimum it is nice to know.

This can be frustrating; debt collectors at law firms can be rude, unwilling to negotiate, and often ask probing questions about your finances—questions you do not have to answer. Be careful what you say.

If the thought of calling a debt collector sounds intimidating, I can help you prepare, or I can handle settlement negotiations for you. You can find more information about my fees for settlement negotiation—and other tasks—or just contact us to find out more.

Step 3: Respond to discovery

The plaintiff may serve you with discovery requests, similar to those you completed in step 1. These are a long list, usually made up of interrogatories, requests for admission, and requests for production of documents.

While you can handle the previous steps on your own, you should probably hire a lawyer to help with this one. How you answer can determine whether you win or lose the case. Debt collectors like to use unusual definitions and other tricks to try to get you to admit more than you should. Responding to discovery requests requires extremely careful reading and a thorough understanding of court rules.

One option, at this point, is to hire a lawyer to handle the entire case for you. We do that for a flat fee, based on the amount of the debt. Or, you can just send me the requests, and I will meet with you to respond to discovery requests for a flat fee.

Step 4: Further discovery

Once you get responses to the discovery requests you sent in step 1, it may make sense to follow up with depositions of the plaintiff’s representatives, or some additional discovery request to check for additional holes in the plaintiff’s evidence.

Contact us, and I will be happy to help you figure out whether you might want to do some further discovery in your case.

Step 5: Summary judgment

Summary judgment is a motion that is usually brought by the plaintiff in a debt collection lawsuit. If none of the facts are in dispute, the judge can decide the case because there is nothing for a jury to decide. If you lose a motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff will have a judgment against you.

A motion for summary judgment involves both written and oral arguments. You have to put together a legal memorandum explaining your position on a strict deadline, and then appear in court to explain your position to the judge.

This is probably the hardest part of a debt collection lawsuit to handle yourself, and I highly recommend you hire a lawyer to handle it, or at a minimum, get some coaching. Sign up for a 30-minute consultation as soon as you find out about the motion for summary judgment. Once the clock starts ticking, time is of the essence.

Step 6: Mediation

Nearly every court will order you to participate in mediation. At mediation, a neutral mediator will try to get you and the plaintiff to settle the case. The mediator cannot force you to settle, but he or she can talk with both parties about the merits of their claims or defenses, and explain the benefits of settlement.

It can help to have a lawyer with you at mediation, but you can certainly handle it yourself. Being ordered to mediation does not mean you have to settle the case; it just means you have to try.

Step 7: Trial

If you get to trial, you probably need a lawyer. In cases where a party represented himself or herself at trial, that usually turns out to have been a bad idea.

If you survive summary judgment and participate in mediation without reaching a settlement, it is a good time to contact a lawyer to talk about trial. As with a motion for summary judgment, trial includes written submissions on a tight deadline, together with appearance at the trial. The earlier you see an attorney about trial, the better your chances of a good result.