[Hammy]

I have a been sued over a LOWES CC dating back to at least 2000. I was sued back then and they recieved a judgement by default and took a lein against my house. Due to a divorse the house went back to the finance company. The loan has apparently been sold for pennies on the dollar and i got a summons to appear in court Aug. 20th. There has been no activity on this account in AT least the past 7 years maybe more. any suggestions? Hammy

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

I have a been sued over a LOWES CC dating back to at least 2000. I was sued back then and they recieved a judgement by default and took a lein against my house. Due to a divorse the house went back to the finance company. The loan has apparently been sold for pennies on the dollar and i got a summons to appear in court Aug. 20th. There has been no activity on this account in AT least the past 7 years maybe more. any suggestions? Hammy

The judgment was sold? Or was there a deficiency balance on the house?

[jlynn]

It wouldn't be the SOL on a cc, you would need to look up the SOL on judgments. What does the summons say? Is it a debtor's exam?

[Hammy]

the summons says:

A money judgement of $2892.49, plus the cost of this cause by reason of a suit on a sworn account...........

[Hammy]

Waht do i need to do immediately on this?

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

Waht do i need to do immediately on this?

Have you moved since getting the judgment? Could be either a debtor's exam or a domestication hearing.

Can you post exactly what the complaint says redacting all personal info?

[Hammy]

I have not moved since 2002. here is the total of what i have:

A money judgement of $2892.49, plus the cost of this cause by reason of a suit filled on a sworn account, here to the Court shown in the principle amount of $2410.41, due and payable from the Defendent, accrued prejudgement interest in the amount of $.00 , accuring until the date of judgement at the contract rate of inteest which is 0% per annum , reasonable attorney's fees in the amount of $482.08, all of which will bear post-judgement interest at the rate of 10% beginning from the date of judgement.

(This firm is acting as a debt collector. This communication is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtainedwill be used for that purpose ).


Anote stapled to the summons from the attoney states:

"You have been sued. If you would like to arrange to pay the debt, please call our law firm at ***-***-****. This may avoid the necessity of you appearing in Court or filling an Answer. When calling , please refer to our case number, which is found on the top of the Court papers."

Thanks Hammy

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

I have not moved since 2002. here is the total of what i have:

A money judgement of $2892.49, plus the cost of this cause by reason of a suit filled on a sworn account, here to the Court shown in the principle amount of $2410.41, due and payable from the Defendent, accrued prejudgement interest in the amount of $.00 , accuring until the date of judgement at the contract rate of inteest which is 0% per annum , reasonable attorney's fees in the amount of $482.08, all of which will bear post-judgement interest at the rate of 10% beginning from the date of judgement.

(This firm is acting as a debt collector. This communication is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtainedwill be used for that purpose ).


Anote stapled to the summons from the attoney states:

"You have been sued. If you would like to arrange to pay the debt, please call our law firm at ***-***-****. This may avoid the necessity of you appearing in Court or filling an Answer. When calling , please refer to our case number, which is found on the top of the Court papers."

Thanks Hammy

Well this makes no sense. If you've already been sued on this debt and it's already been reduced to a judgment, you cannot be sued again on it. The debt collector can however, take the steps required to force you to pay it such as a lien on property, garnishment of wages, etc., if he has the documentation that he represents the owner of the judgment.

You have affirmative defense to this lawsuit in the form of res judicata. From the way this complaint reads, the plaintiff is suing you for the original debt, not the judgment. Probably a JDB.

Who is the plaintiff BTW and the law firm?

Was the original judgment obtained by Lowe's?

The original judgment holder (Lowe's?) put a lien to collect the judgment. When the house was repo'ed, the lien went away because the house didn't sell for enough to cover the mortgage company AND the judgment holder. It is still a judgment that should be within SOL. They cannot sue you for the judgment. They can however, bring you in for a debtor's exam or put a lien on your vehicle, try to garnish your wages or possibly have a sheriff's sale of your personal belongings. They cannot re-sue you.

[Hammy]

the original suit was by a collection agency in 2000. Lowes was the original debt holder. The original judgement was by the collection agency. The current plantiff is LVNV Funding LLC . The law firm is Hotsto, Buchan, Prater, & Lawrence, PLLLC . On the original summons ( 2000) I talked to the attorney and they would not accept a settlement i offered so i didnt go to court and a default judgement was issued against me for like $1800.

2 things: whats are res judicata and JDB

[Hammy]

i found this upon doing a search:

STATE: TENNESSEE

INTEREST RATE *

Legal: 10% *

Judgment: 10% (or contract rate) (varies with type of transaction)

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)
Open Acct.: 6
Written Contract: 6
Domestic Judgment: 10
Foreign Judgment: 10
is a LOWES cc not an open account? or since they filed suit in 2000 this SOL does not apply and the domestic judgement of 10 yrs applies.

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

the original suit was by a collection agency in 2000. Lowes was the original debt holder. The original judgement was by the collection agency. The current plantiff is LVNV Funding LLC . The law firm is Hotsto, Buchan, Prater, & Lawrence, PLLLC . On the original summons ( 2000) I talked to the attorney and they would not accept a settlement i offered so i didnt go to court and a default
judgement was issued against me for like $1800.

2 things: whats are res judicata and JDB

Res judicata is Latin that literally means, "that which has been decided." Using the doctrine of res judicata prevents a plaintiff from suing on a claim that already has been decided and also prevents a defendant from raising any new defense to defeat the enforcement of an earlier judgment. It also precludes re-litigation of any issue, regardless of whether the second action is on the same claim as the first one, if that particular issue actually was contested and decided in the first action.

There are four factors considered in determining the validity of res judicata when used as you will in precluding the claim in this lawsuit:

1. Was the claim decided in the prior suit the same claim being presented in the action in question?
2. Was there a final judgment on the merits?
3. Was the party against whom the plea was asserted a party or in privity with a party to the prior suit?
4. Was the party against whom the plea was asserted given a fair opportunity to be heard on the issue?

LVNV is a JDB -- a junk debt buyer as well as thieves, con-artists, crooks, scum and assholes. (Several of the previous pejoratives are just my own opinion.)

Simply put, a debt buyer buys distressed debt.

LVNV goes by numerous names:

DBA/LVNV Funding, LLC,
DBA/ Resurgent Capital Services, LP,
Dba/ Alegis Group, LLC
Aka/ Sherman Financial Group, LLC
aka/Pinnacle Financial Group
Fka/ Sherman Acquisitions
Aka/FNBM, LLC
Aka/Ascent Card Services
Aka/Ventus Capital Services
Aka/Performance Recovery Group
Aka/Receivables Management Solutions

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

i found this upon doing a search:

STATE: TENNESSEE

INTEREST RATE *

Legal: 10% *

Judgment: 10% (or contract rate) (varies with type of transaction)

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (IN YEARS)
Open Acct.: 6
Written Contract: 6
Domestic Judgment: 10
Foreign Judgment: 10
is a LOWES cc not an open account? or since they filed suit in 2000 this SOL does not apply and the domestic judgement of 10 yrs applies.

Lowe's is a lender card with a 4 year SOL under the UCC. If this had not already been litigated, it would be time-barred. Whoever owns the judgment from the first suit however, still has a valid claim. That someone is not LVNV as LVNV is suing you all over again for the Lowe's card, not trying to collect a domestic judgment.

[hannah]

Originally Posted by Hammy

Waht do i need to do immediately on this?

I have not looked up civil procedure in TN yet but here you would need to answer it paragraph by paragraph or file a motion to dismiss as the claim is precluded by res judicata.

I will see if I can get *someone* with intimate knowledge of TN law to answer this.

When were you served? What court?

You are going to need a copy of your file from the first suit. Best go get copies of it in the next few days from the courthouse as since it was several years ago, they will need time to find it.

[Hedwig]

Any possibility this is another account and not the Lowe's account?

[Hammy]

thanks for looking into it.

you mentioned paragragh by paragragh: i posted everything i have.

i was servered on May 19th in General Sessions Court with a court date of Aug 20th.

The original suit was in the County seat of another county 70 miles away.

Originally Posted by hannah

I have not looked up civil procedure in TN yet but here you would need to answer it paragraph by paragraph or file a motion to dismiss as the claim is precluded by res judicata.

I will see if I can get *someone* with intimate knowledge of TN law to answer this.

When were you served? What court?

You are going to need a copy of your file from the first suit. Best go get copies of it in the next few days from the courthouse as since it was several years ago, they will need time to find it.

[Hammy]

Originally Posted by Hedwig

Any possibility this is another account and not the Lowe's account?

No this is an assignee of GE Capital / Lowe's Credit card

[apexcrsrvc]

Where do you live in TN?