Consumer Litigation | Hailstone Legal Group

Many Americans have wrestled with debt collection litigation in the past and now that the country has experienced the coronavirus pandemic’s economic repercussions a surge of lawsuits are expected to swamp individuals currently struggling to meet their debt obligations. More than 25% of Americans, according to credit reports reviewed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, have at least one debt in collection by a third-party debt collector.

Many of these consumer litigation proceedings end in automatic judgements against the defendants because they rarely have legal representation and fail to take action to protect themselves. You can and should fight back if you are the target of consumer litigation. Hailstone Legal Group is ready immediately to start working with you to build your case to ensure your rights are protected.

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Dealing with Consumer Litigation

If you have received a summons notifying you that you are being sued for a past debt your first instinct may be to panic and decide you have no chance to fight the lawsuit. Alternatively, you might ignore the summons and hope it goes away.

Unfortunately, this is the worst thing you can do because it will not go away on its own. In fact, the creditor may have filed this litigation against you hoping you will ignore it, so that they can get a default judgment against you.

It is not uncommon for the plaintiffs in these cases to file 1000’s of lawsuits expecting that the case will be decided with no scrutiny of the merits so it is important that you understand key points about debt collection litigation that Hailstone Legal Group can use in your defense which include:

Even if you did originally agree to the debt, they creditor must show in court that they are entitled to collect it and that they have standing to sue you.
The debt holder has the burden of proof. If they acquired the debt without the proper underlying documentation of the debt and repayments, they will not be able to prove that you owe them.
Many debts are subject to statute of limitations, which limit the time frame in which a creditor or collector must take action against you.
There are rules and procedures as to how the summons is served and breach of these rules can result in the action being dismissed.

If you do choose to ignore a lawsuit, the court will enter a judgment against you by default. When this happens, it will not matter if the plaintiff has documentation, a legal right to collect or violated any of your rights, and your ability to dispute the debt may be gone forever. Therefore, it is very important that you timely respond to the lawsuit with a lawyer by your side.

Consumer Litigation Alternatives

The team of professionals at Hailstone Legal Group is prepared to fight your case in court in an effort to achieve the best result possible. Additionally, while defending you on that front or even before the proceedings begin, we may be able to come to an alternative agreement with your creditors. Through negotiations, an out of court settlements could be agreed upon and desirable to both parties.

We are fully committed to exploring every way possible to get the best outcome for your case. If a lawsuit has been filed against you concerning your debts, you can rest assured that our firm has handled many similar cases, so we know the law when it comes to protecting debtors. Contact us today to find out how we can help defend against consumer debt litigation.